| Pritzker Winners Oct 2nd 2011, 10:02 Each year the Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded to an architect who has made important accomplishments. While the selections of the Pritzker Prize jury are sometimes controversial, there is no doubt that Pritzker Prize Laureates are among the most influential architects of modern times. These pages list all the Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureates, starting with the most recent and continuing back 1979 when the Prize was first established. 
Pritzker Prize Media Photo © Luis Ferreira Alves Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura is the Pritzker Prize Pick for 2011. "His buildings have a unique ability to convey seemingly conflicting characteristics -- power and modesty, bravado and subtlety, bold public authority and a sense of intimacy -- at the same time," says Pritzker Prize jury chairman, Lord Palumbo. 
21st Century Museum, Kanazawa, Japan. © Junko Kimura/Getty Images Prize shared with Ryue Nishizawa, Japan Kazuyo Sejima's firm, Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates (SANAA), is praised for designing powerful, minimalist buildings using common, everyday materials. 
Christian Dior Building, Tokyo. ©Hisao Suzuki, Courtesy of SANAA Prize shared with Kazuyo Sejima, Japan Japanese architect Ryue Nishizawa is best known for simple, minimalist buildings designed in collaboration with architect Kazuyo Sejima. 
Luzi House, Switzerland. © Walter Mair, courtesy Peter ZumthorThe son of a cabinet maker, Swiss architect Peter Zumthor is often praised for the detailed craftsmanship of his designs. 
Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. © Roland Halbe, courtesy Ateliers Jean NouvelTaking cues from the environment, flamboyant French architect Jean Nouvel places an emphasis on light and shadow. 
Lloyd's of London. © Richard Bryant/Arcaid, Courtesy Richard Rogers Partnership British architect Richard Rogers is known for "transparent" high tech designs and a fascination for buildings as machines. 
Cava Estate, Brazil. © Nelson KonBrazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha is known for bold simplicity and an innovative use of concrete and steel. 
Blades Residence, Califorinia. ©Kim ZwartsAmerican architect Thom Mayne has won many awards for designing buildings that move beyond modernism and postmodernism. 
Broad Art Museum, Michigan. ©MorphosisFrom parking garages and ski-jumps to vast urban landscapes, Zaha Hadid's works have been called bold, unconventional, and theatrical. The Iraqi-born British architect was the first woman to win a Pritzker Prize. 
Sydney Opera House, Australia. ©NewOpenWorld FoundationBorn in Denmark, Jørn Utzon was perhaps destined to design buildings that evoke the sea. He was the architect for the famous and controversial Sydney Opera House in Australia.   | |
