Chinese architect Wang Shu has been awarded the prestigious Pritzker prize. The decision acknowledges "the role that China will play in the development of architectural ideals", said Thomas Pritzker, chairman of the Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the $100,000 award.
Wang's work typically mixes modern design with traditional material. He tries to recover what he has called the "handicraft aspect" of building design, in contrast to "professionalised, soulless architecture, as practised today". The jury praised his work as "exemplary in its strong sense of cultural continuity and reinvigorated tradition". China's rapid urbanisation makes the issue of "the proper relation of present to past...particularly timely," said jury chairman Lord Palumbo.
Image: Wang Shu, winner of the 2012 Pritzker architecture prize and the Ningbo History Museum, China
