The 2023 Pritzker Prize has been awarded to English architect David Chipperfield “for the rigour, integrity and pertinence of a body of work that – beyond the realm of the architecture discipline – speaks for his social and environmental commitment,” said the jury.
Chipperfield, whose work spans four decades and three continents, is celebrated for revering history and culture while honouring pre-existing built and natural environments.
Jury chair Alejandro Aravena said, “In a world where many architects view a commission as an opportunity to add to their own portfolio, he responds to each project with specific tools that he has selected with preciseness and great care. Sometimes it requires a gesture that is strong and monumental, while other times, it requires him to almost disappear. But his buildings will always stand the test of time because the ultimate goal of his operation is to serve the greater good. The avoidance of what’s fashionable has allowed him to remain permanent.”
Chipperfield’s work ranges from civic, cultural and academic buildings to residences and urban planning. He has had a particular focus on museums, with significant works including the Neues Museum and James-Simon-Galerie in Berlin, Turner Contemporary and Hepworth Wakefield in the UK, as well as the Inagawa Cemetery Chapel and Visitor Centre in Japan.
Inagawa Cemetery Chapel and Visitor Centre by David Chipperfield.
Image: Courtesy of Keiko Sasaoka.
“At once architectural and museological projects, in Chipperfield’s hands museums as institutions and buildings offer a transformation of the urban life of the cities where they are located. Generous outdoor spaces make them not fortresses but connectors, places for gathering and observing, such that the building itself is a gift to the city, a common ground even for those who never enter the galleries,” the jury citation reads.
“In short, his buildings embody a commanding balance of the seemingly contradictory notions of being complete in and of themselves as architectural designs where every detail is conceived as a carefully studied part of a whole, and at the same time create interconnections to the city and to the society in such a way as to fundamentally transform a whole district.
“The career of David Chipperfield is marked by a long term, rigour and consistency in a body of work that has seamlessly integrated and balanced both terms of that equation.
“Always characterized by elegance, restraint, a sense of permanence, as well as clear compositions and refined detailing, his buildings each time exude clarity, surprise, sophisticated contextuality and confident presence.”
Tom Pritzker, chairman of award sponsor the Hyatt Foundation, said that Chipperfield “is assured without hubris, consistently avoiding trendiness to confront and sustain the connections between tradition and innovation, serving history and humanity. While his works are elegantly masterful, he measures the achievements of his designs by social and environmental welfare to enhance the quality of life for all of civilization.”
