Glenn Murcutt will tomorrow be presented with the prestigious Pritzker prize for architecture, in Rome at the Campidoglio. A nomination – the first for an Australian architect – which came as something of a surprise for many when it was announced in April - Murcutt beat big shot opponents such as Jean Nouvel, Daniel Libeskind and Richard Rogers. “Glenn Murcutt is in sharp contrast with the more famous contemporary architects – underlined Thomas J Pritzker, president of the Hyatt Foundation who sponsors the award – when he realised the Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre, a public building completed in 1999, he received widespread acclaim and critics described it as a masterpiece”.

This is not Murcutt’s first award, in 1992 he received the Alvar Aalto medal in Helsinki and the Gold Medal from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. His work has been shown in various exhibitions in Europe and the US and at the end of 2002 Electa will be publishing a complete monograph edited by Françoise Fromonot.

Related contents:
Pritzker 2002 (18.4.2002)
Reputations (Domus 848 May 2002)