Pritzker Prize for museum architect David Chipperfield

This year’s Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious award in the architecture industry, goes to British architect David Chipperfield. His museum buildings in Berlin have made the British star architect famous in Germany

This year’s Pritzker Prize for Architecture went to the British star architect David Chipperfield. “Subtle yet powerful, subdued yet elegant, he is a prolific architect who is radical in his restraint and demonstrates his reverence for history and culture,” the jury announced today on Tuesday afternoon. The Pritzker Prize is the most prestigious award in the architecture industry and is endowed with 100,000 dollars. In Germany, David Chipperfield is best known for the restoration and reconstruction of the Neues Museum in Berlin. The reconstruction restored the architectural concept of the severely damaged structures of the staircase hall of the Neues Museum. In line with the concept of preserving the building’s history, a conscious decision was made not to reconstruct the former wall paintings. To mark the tenth anniversary of the reopening of the Neues Museum, the original state of the staircase hall was digitally reconstructed (exhibition 12.10.2019 to 26.1.2020). He also designed the James-Simon-Galerie for the Museum Island and the Galeriehaus am Kupfergraben opposite for the Berlin art collector couple Céline and Heiner Bastian, which was handed over to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.

In 2021, the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin reopened after more than six years of construction. Here, too, David Chipperfield was responsible for the refurbishment and restoration of the iconic building by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) in line with its listed status. David Chipperfield Architects was also responsible for the extension to the Kunsthaus Zürich, which opened in October 2021 and was placed freestanding opposite the older existing building. (You can find the article on this in our RESTAURO issue 8/2021 with the cover story Museum new build and conversion).

David Chipperfield: Speaker at the “denkmal” 2018

At “denkmal” 2018, David Chipperfield spoke about the tension between architecture, heritage conservation and urban planning. “I am so overwhelmed to receive this extraordinary honor and to be associated with the previous recipients, all of whom have given so much inspiration to the profession,” the 69-year-old shared this afternoon. “I see this award as an incentive to continue to focus my attention not only on architecture itself and its importance, but also on the contribution we as architects can make to tackling the existential challenges of climate change and social inequality,” Chipperfield continued. “We know that as architects, we can play a stronger and more active role in creating not only a more beautiful world, but also a more just and sustainable one. We must rise to this challenge and inspire the next generation to take on this responsibility with vision and courage.”

Who has won the Pritzker Prize so far?

In recent years, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Norman Foster and Peter Zumthor, among others, have been honored with the coveted Pritzker Prize. In 2022, architect Francis Kéré, who was born in Burkina Faso in West Africa and lives in Berlin, was awarded the prize.

Reading tip: David Chipperfield curated the 2016 edition of our architecture magazine BAUMEISTER. Also: You can read more about the architect and the projects of David Chipperfield Architects here from our colleagues.

David Chipperfield talks about architecture in the video: TED x Marrakesh