Past winners of the Pritzker Prize include: Shigeru Ban, Toyo Ito,
Eduardo Souto de Moura and Peter Zumthor to name but a few. This year’s winner
has been named as Alejandro Aravena, a Chilean Architect with an aim to improve
urban environments and to tackle the global housing crisis. The Pritzker Prize
jury praised Aravena for serving the greater social and humanitarian needs of
communities.
Alejandro Aravena is most famously known for co-founding ‘Elemental’, an architecture group with the aim of eradicating poverty, slums and engaging with communities early on in the design process. Below is a short video by Cristobel Palma showing the atmospheric quality of a park designed by Elemental. The park covers four acres of land and sits upon a hillside in Santiago, source: Dezeen website.
Quinta Monroy Housing, Iquique, 2004 Photography by Cristobel Palma, source: Dezeen |
Quinta Monroy Housing, Iquique, 2004 Photography by Cristobel Palma, source: Dezeen |
Sources: Dezeen, ArchDaily and Architecture Magazine