China has been selected as the location for the next Pritzker Architecture Prize Ceremony, which will be held on 25 May 2012 in Beijing.

The announcement was jointly made by Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing, China and Thomas J. Pritzker, Chairman of The Hyatt Foundation.

Over the last 3 decades, the prize-giving event has been held in 14 different countries, in such diverse venues as the White House in Washington DC and the Todai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan. This is the first time, however, that the ceremony will be held in China.

“The tradition of moving the event to world sites of architectural significance was established to emphasise that the prize is international, the laureates having been chosen from 16 different nations to date,” says Thomas J. Pritzker, adding that it was particularly appropriate to hold the awards in China given that many laureates such as Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas have ongoing or completed projects in the country.

2004 Pritzker Laureate Zaha Hadid, now a Pritzker juror, recently completed the new Guangzhou Opera House in China.

2011 Pritzker Architecture Prize winner, architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, from Portugal.

This year’s 2011 Pritzker Architecture Prize winner is architect Eduardo Souto de Moura from Portugal whom the international jury has described as having “produced a body of work that is of our time but also carries echoes of architectural traditions”. The prize-giving ceremony was held at the historic Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington DC, USA.

Eduardo Souto de Moura’s Paulo Regio Museum (2008).

His projects include residences, a cinema, shopping centres, hotels, apartments, offices, art galleries and museums, schools, sports facilities and subways.

The specific site for the Pritzker Prize ceremony in Beijing is yet to be determined but it will likely be one of historic significance says the organisers.

Eduardo Souto de Moura’s House Number Two in the town of Bom Jesus.

Top Image: Eduardo Souto de Moura’s stadium in Braga, Portugal (2004)

The Pritzker Architecture Prize
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