The

Pritzker
Architecture
Prize
2002
GLENN MURCUTT
The Pritzker Architecture Prize was established by The Hyatt
Foundation in 1979 to honor annually a living architect whose built
work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision
and commitment which has produced consistent and significant
contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art
of architecture
An international panel of jurors reviews nominations from all
nations, selecting one living architect each year. Seven Laureates
have been chosen from the United States, and the year 2002 marked
the nineteenth to be chosen from other countries around the world.
The bronze medallion presented to each Laureate is based on designes of Louis Sullivan, famed Chicago
architect generally acknowledged as the father of the skyscraper. Shown on the cover is one side with the name
of theprize and space in the center for the Laureates name. On the reverse, shown above, three words are
inscribed, firmness, commodity and delight. The Latin words, firmitas, utilitas, venustas were originally
set down nearly 2000 years ago by Marcus Vitruvius in his Ten Books on Architecture dedicated to the Roman
Emperor Augustus. In 1624, when Henry Wotton was Englands first Ambassador to Venice, he translated
the words for his work, The Elements of Architecture, to read: The end is to build well. Well building hath three
conditions: commodity, firmness and delight.
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THE
PRITZKER
ARCHITECTURE PRIZE
2002
PRESENTED TO
GLENN MARCUS MURCUTT
SPONSORED BY
THE HYATT FOUNDATION
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THE JURY
CHAIRMAN
J. Carter Brown
Director Emeritus, National Gallery of Art
Chairman, U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
Washington, D.C.
Giovanni Agnelli
Chairman, Fiat
Torino, Italy
Ada Louise Huxtable
Author and Architectural Critic
New York, New York
Carlos Jimenez
Professor, Rice University School of Architecture
Principal, Carlos Jimenez Studio
Houston, Texas
The Lord Rothschild
Former Chairman of the Board of Trustees, National Gallery
Former Chairman, National Heritage Memorial Fund
London, England
Jorge Silvetti
Chairman, Department of Architecture
Harvard University, Graduate School of Design
Cambridge, Massachusetts
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Bill Lacy
Professor, State University of New York at Purchase
Purchase, New York
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JURY CITATION
Glenn Murcutt is a modernist, a naturalist, an environmentalist,
a humanist, an economist and ecologist encompassing all of these
distinguished qualities in his practice as a dedicated architect who
works alone from concept to realization of his projects in his
native Australia. Although his works have sometimes been
described as a synthesis of Mies van der Rohe and the native
Australian wool shed, his many satisfied clients and the scores
more who are waiting in line for his services are endorsement
enough that his houses are unique, satisfying solutions.
Generally, he eschews large projects which would require him
to expand his practice, and give up the personal attention to
detail that he can now give to each and every project. His is an
architecture of place, architecture that responds to the landscape
and to the climate.
His houses are fine tuned to the land and the weather. He uses
a variety of materials, from metal to wood to glass, stone, brick and
concrete always selected with a consciousness of the amount of
energy it took to produce the materials in the first place. He uses
light, water, wind, the sun, the moon in working out the details of
how a house will work how it will respond to its environment.
His structures are said to float above the landscape, or in the
words of the Aboriginal people of Western Australia that he is
fond of quoting, they touch the earth lightly. Glenn Murcutts
structures augment their significance at each stage of inquiry.
One of Murcutts favorite quotations from Henry David
Thoreau, who was also a favorite of his father, Since most of us
spend our lives doing ordinary tasks, the most important thing is
to carry them out extraordinarily well. With the awarding of the
2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the jury finds that Glenn Murcutt
is more than living up to that adage.
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Magney House
Bingie Bingie
South Coast, New South WaIes
AustraIia
1982-1984
(this page and opposite)
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1979
Philip Johnson of the United States of America
presented at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.
1980
Luis Barragan of Mexico
presented at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.
1981
James Stirling of the United Kingdom
presented at the National Building Museum,
Washington, D.C.
1982
Kevin Roche of the United States of America
presented at The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois
1983
Ieoh Ming Pei of the United States of America
presented at The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York, New York
1984
Richard Meier of the United States of America
presented at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
1985
Hans Hollein of Austria
presented at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and
Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California
1986
Gottfried Bhm of Germany
presented at Goldsmiths Hall, London, United Kingdom
1987
Kenzo Tange of Japan
presented at the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
1988
Gordon Bunshaft of the United States of America and
Oscar Niemeyer of Brazil
presented at The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois
1989
Frank O. Gehry of the United States of America
presented at Todai-ji Buddhist Temple, Nara, Japan
P R E V I O U S L A U R E AT E S
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P R E V I O U S L A U R E AT E S
1990
Aldo Rossi of Italy
presented at Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy
1991
Robert Venturi of the United States of America
presented at Palacio de Iturbide, Mexico City, Mexico
1992
Alvaro Siza of Portugal
presented at the Harold Washington Library Center, Chicago, Illinois
1993
Fumihiko Maki of Japan
presented at Prague Castle, Czech Republic
1994
Christian de Portzamparc of France
presented at The Commons, Columbus, Indiana
1995
Tadao Ando of Japan
presented at the Grand Trianon and the Palace of Versailles, France
1996
Rafael Moneo of Spain
presented at the construction site of The Getty Center
Los Angeles, Calfiornia
1997
Sverre Fehn of Norway
presented at the construction site of The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
1998
Renzo Piano of Italy
presented at the White House, Washington, D.C.
1999
Sir Norman Foster of the United Kingdom
presented at the Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany
2000
Rem Koolhaas of the Netherlands
presented at the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, Israel
2001
Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of Switzerland
presented at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, Virginia
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FORMAL PRESENTATION CEREMONY
Michelangelos Campidoglio
Rome, Italy
Wednesday, May 29, 2002
BILL LACY
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
THE PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE
THE HONORABLE WALTER VELTRONI
THE MAYOR OF ROME
THOMAS J. PRITZKER
PRESIDENT, THE HYATT FOUNDATION
GLENN MARCUS MURCUTT
2002 PRITZKER LAUREATE
THE HONORABLE PROFESSOR VITTORIO SGARBI
UNDER-SECRETARY OF THE
MINISTER OF FINE ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS
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On the morning of the prize ceremony, a media conference
was held at the St. Regis Grand Hotel in Rome for the benefit
of journalists who had traveled to Italy for the ceremony as
well as local media representatives.
Guests walked up the steps to Michelangelo's Campidoglio
Square where the ceremony to present the 2002 Pritzker
Architecture Prize to Australia's Glenn Murcutt would be
held.
Bi l l Lacy (l ef t ), t he execut i ve di rect or of t he Pri t zker
Architecture Prize, conducted the media conference which
introduced Glenn Murcutt, the 2002 Laureate from Australia
"Michelangelo is often thought of principally as a sculptor and painter, rather than as an architect," said
J. Carter Brown, chairman of the jury that selects the Pritzker Laureate each year. "But right in the religious
and political center of Rome, he was commissioned to design a remarkable architectural project at the top of
the Capitoline Hill, the Campidoglio, Rome's ancient Capitol Hill. It is a place spanning more than 2000 years of
history. In 1471, Pope Sixtus IV donated large bronze statues to the Campidoglio, creating what is now arguably
the oldest public museum in the world. The She-wolf suckling the two traditional founders of Rome, Romulus
and Remus, was placed inside the Palazzo dei Conservatori, and became the symbol of the city. With Papal authority,
Michelangelo moved the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius to the center of the plaza, and created a magically
beautiful star-shaped pavement design. (His design was not in fact actually completed until 1940; and to conserve
the statue, one of the great monuments of antiquity, the original has been moved into the adjoining museum,
and a faithful replica installed in the center of the plaza, following Michelangelo's design.)"
The guests assembling from around the world for the Pritzker Prize walked up the monumental ramp
(cordonata) to the top of the Capitoline Hill, to sit in chairs placed on the piazza facing the central building (the
Palazzo Senatorio which today houses the offices of the mayor and the city council chambers). There, in front of
the fountain, the ceremony took place to present the $100,000 Pritzker Architecture Prize to Australian architect
Glenn Murcutt. On either side of the piazza is the Palazzo dei Conser vatori and the Palazzo Nuovo, both of which
comprise the Capitoline Museum.
Following the ceremony, guests were transported to
the Palazzo Colonna for a reception and dinner. The first
historical information on the Colonna family residence dates
from the 13th century. Since that time, the family has
provided numerous princes of the Catholic Church, including
several Cardinals and Popes. Today, the family home doubles
as a private art gallery for the art collections that span six
centuries.
The presentation ceremonies move around the world
each year paying homage to the architecture of other eras
and/or works by previous laureates of the prize. The 2002
ceremony marks the second time the prize has been presented
in Italy, the first being in 1990 at the Palazzo Grassi in
Venice when the late Aldo Rossi received the prize. As the
sites are chosen each year before the laureate, there is no
i nt ended connect i on beyond cel ebrat i ng archi t ect ural
excellence. Retrospectively, buildings by Laureates of the
Pritzker Prize, such as the National Gallery of Arts East
Building designed by I.M. Pei, or Frank Gehrys Guggenheim
Museum in Bilbao, Spain, or Richard Meiers new Getty
Center in Los Angeles have been used. In some instances,
pl aces of hi st ori c i nt erest such as Frances Pal ace of
Versailles and Grand Trianon, or Todai-ji Buddhist Temple
in Japan, or Prague Castle in The Czech Republic have been
chosen as ceremony venues. Some of the most beautiful
museums have hosted the event, i ncl udi ng the al ready
mentioned Palazzo Grassi: Chicagos Art Institute (using the
Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room designed by Louis
Sullivan and his partner, Dankmar Adler, which was preserved
when the Stock Exchange building was torn down in 1972.
The Trading Room was then reconstructed in the museum's
new wing in 1977). New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of
Art provided the setting of 1982 Laureate Kevin Roches
pavilion for the Temple of Dendur. In homage to the late
Louis Kahn, the ceremony was held in Fort Worths Kimbell
Art Museum in 1987. Californias Huntington Library, Art
Collections and Botanical Gardens was the setting in l985.
In 1992, the just-completed Harold Washington Library
Center in Chicago was the location where Alvaro Siza of
Portugal received the prize. The 20th anniversary of the prize
was hosted at the White House since in a way, the Pritzker
Prize roots were in Washington where the first two ceremonies
Photos below by Robert W. Jensen
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(left to right) Glenn Murcutt, the 2002 Pritzker Laureate; his wife Wendy Lewin;
Dr. Guido Zincone, director of Fiat's Rome office; Thomas J. Pritzker, president
of t he Hyat t Foundat i on; and t he Honor abl e Wal t er Vel t r oni ,
Mayor of Rome.
Following the ceremony at Campidoglio Square, guests were transported
a short distance to the Palazzo Colonna where a reception was held in the
main art gallery.
Dinner was served in a tent erected in the garden
of Palazzo Colonna. Executive director Bill Lacy
joined Mrs. Cindy Pritzker and Laureate Glenn
Murcutt for a few moments while everyone was
taking their seats.
were held at Dumbarton Oaks a major
addition to the original estate, had been
designed by yet another Pritzker Laureate,
the very first, Philip Johnson. In 2000 in
Jer us al em, on t he Herodi an St reet
excavation in the shadow of the Temple
Mount was the most ancient of the venues.
The ceremoni es have evol ved over t he
years, becoming, in effect, an international
grand tour of architecture.
Coi nci di ng wi t h t he Pr i t zker
Architecture Prize ceremony being held in
Rome, the American Academy in Rome co-
hos t ed a Pri t zker Sympos i um on Ne w
Ce nt ur y, Ne w Worl d, The Gl obal i zat i on of
Architecture. The co-chairs of the event are
Bill Lacy, executive director of the Pritzker
Architecture Prize and Adele Chatfield-
Taylor, president of the American Academy
i n Rome. Part i ci pant s i ncl uded: Rol f
Fehlbaum, Anthony Grafton, Zaha Hadid,
Dogon Hasol , Ri cardo Legorret a, and
Karen Stein.
One of the founding jurors of the
Pri t zker Pri ze, t he l at e Lord Cl ark of
Saltwood, as art historian Kenneth Clark,
perhaps best known for his television series
and book, Civilisation, said at one of the
ceremonies, A great historical episode can
exist in our imagination almost entirely in
the form of architecture. Very few of us
have read t he t ext s of earl y Egypt i an
l i t erat ure. Yet we f eel we know t hos e
infinitely remote people almost as well as
our immediate ancestors, chiefly because of
their sculpture and architecture.
# # #
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BILL LACY
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
THE PRITZKER
ARCHITECTURE PRIZE
THE HONORABLE WALTER VELTRONI*
MAYOR OF ROME
We r e ver y honor ed t o hos t her e i n
Campi dogl i o, i n t hi s s quare, s uch an
important prize for worldwide architecture.
To talk about the possibility of holding this
event here on this square was the Honorable
Giovanni Agnelli who talked to me about this
on the phone a few months ago. He has been
for a long time an outstanding member of the
jury for this prize. We can all wish him a
quick recovery from his disease because he is,
uh, for our country, for the economy of our
country, one of the biggest resources.
This square was designed by Michelangelo
and Michelangelos design is very strong in
the history of architecture of Rome.
All the architecture of this city was developed
by people of very high standing, very high
level and prestige. But to tell the truth, as of
the 60s, it was quite difficult for contemporary
Good evening, l adies and
gentlemen. Im Bill Lacy,
Executive Director of the
Pritzker Architecture Prize.
And to begin the program this
evening, it is my pleasure to
i nt roduce t he Mayor of
Rome, the Honorable Walter
Veltroni, Mr. Mayor.
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architecture to leave a mark on the architecture and the buildings of this great city.
And the impression is that development had been marked by a quiet kind of
quantitative rather than qualitative idea thereby ignoring the idea of leaving a mark
on architecture.
But now things are starting to change and I had the chance of showing to Mrs.
Pritzker and all of the people who came to my office, I showed them a unique view
of the city, and I could present them with a medal which has on its backside the
original design of the auditorium which was designed and built by Renzo Piano who
is here with us today.
And a sign on the mark of contemporary architecture will be soon seen in the
Municipal Gallery Of Modern Art and the National Gallery Of Modern Art which
will be designed by Fuksas and also in the new Congress Center which will be soon
designed and built in Rome.
Architecture is a project, is creativity which turns into reality into a dimension, into
space. Therefore, its a way of designing and planning a city.
Rome will be for future generations the City of Michelangelo, the City of
Campidoglio, but also the City of the auditorium designed by Renzo Piano, and it
is precisely in this double dimension which the greatness of architecture lies.
And this is the reason why we are very honored to host this prize here in this city,
in this square, and we wish you successful work and we hope that this prize will, in
the next few years, be able to aid the qualitative growth and development of town
planning and architecture.
BILL LACY
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
THE PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE
Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor. Welcome again, architects, friends of architecture,
and friends and admirers of Glenn Murcutt. The part of Carter Brown, our
illustrious long-time chairman who normally presides over these occasions, will be
played by Bill Lacy this evening. A serious illness has prevented Carter from being
with us.
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 24th ceremony awarding the Pritzker
Architecture Prize in the most perfect city for such an event; a city that still, after
2000 years remains the pinnacle of architectural achievement and architectural
heritage.
In the United States, any city that possessed one square block of Rome would
declare itself a tourist destination. But Rome displays its centuries old riches
casually, the way a great poet can be generous with words because the supply is
seemingly inexhaustible. Every street in Rome, every faade, every stone, every
vista down a street or across the Tiber is a special visual treat.
In my correspondence with your great Italian critic, the late Bruno Zevi, I
remember one line, ah, Bill, it is April and Rome is beautiful, it is cruel. I knew
exactly what he meant. Rome is the world's greatest outdoor museum of architecture,
without boundaries and without preciousness. I love Rome. But before I get carried
away figuratively or actually, I should get on with the program.
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The selection of a prize winner can only, in the end, be as good as those doing the
selecting, and this years jury, whom I will now introduce, represent the wisdom and
experience that is reflected in their choices each year.
The jury members are, beginning with our incredible chairman, J. Carter Brown, who
is regrettably missing the first ceremony since the prize's inception in 1979. Mr.
Brown is the renowned director emeritus of the National Gallery of Art in Washington,
D.C.; chairman of the Fine Arts Commission, advisor to presidents and first ladies on
aesthetic and artistic matters involving art and architecture during numerous
administrations. If we had a minister of the arts in the United States, the choice would
be obvious. We miss you, Carter, as much as you miss being here on this auspicious
occasion.
Ms. Ada Louise Huxtable, distinguished architecture critic and author, winner of the
Pulitzer Prize, winner of the McArthur Award and many other richly deserved
honors. You can read her criticisms currently in the Wall Street Journal and the New York
Review of Books.
You have already heard about Avvocato Giovanni Agnellis role in, in obtaining the
permission to be here this evening in this great space. He is the Chairman and CEO
Emeritus of the esteemed Fiat Corporation and an avid patron of architecture. He has
been indispensable to the jury over the years and we are especially indebted to him
for this evening.
Jorge Silvetti, architect partner in the widely acclaimed firm of Machado and
Silvetti. He has been chairman of the School of Architecture at Harvard for the past
seven years.
Carlos Jimenez, architect originally from Costa Rica, now a member of the faculty
at Rice University in Houston where he practices. He has an impressive and growing
list of exceptional buildings to his credit.
Lord Jacob Rothschild, whose long-standing interest in art, architecture, historic
preservation and archaeology make him an essential member of this formidable jury.
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There are other distinguished guests whose presence I am pleased to note. I would
like to quickly introduce them as well. They are architects who have received the
Pritzker Architecture Prize in the past. Lord Norman Foster, Frank Gehry, Gottfried
Boehm, Renzo Piano, Sverre Fehn, and Christian de Portzamparc. If Ive left out
anyone, God help me. And I would like to introduce a very special and honored
guest, the honorable Murray Cobban, Australian Ambassador to Italy; and Adele
Chatfield-Taylor, President of the American Academy in Rome. Thank you.
The Pritzker Architecture Prize was created to honor architecture as an important
field, one which was omitted in the largely scientific endeavors acknowledged by the
Nobel Prizes. It was also intended to raise the general publics awareness of the
importance that architecture plays in all our lives.
Occasionally the prize jury feels the obligation to serve as a compass in todays media
driven culture and to remind us that architecture is a long-term proposition, that
building great buildings is more important than getting great publicity.
Tonights honoree, Glenn Marcus Murcutt exemplifies that attitude as do his
buildings. He has toiled many years in his native Australia to produce an exquisite
and singular collection of works that hew to the principles that have always produced
great buildings, large and small. His is an architecture of a quintessential purities,
simplicity and beauty, an architecture of modesty, an architecture of greatness.
And to present the prize to Glenn Murcutt, it is my further honor now to introduce
Thomas Pritzker who continues the legacy of his late father, Jay, and who, with his
mother, Cindy, plays a hands-on role in the administration of the prize each year
including staging this magnificent venue in Rome. Thomas Pritzker is a man of many
interests Indian scholar, art collector, architecture groupie, author, successful
businessman and entrepreneur; he will present this years 2002 Pritzker Architecture
Prize at this time.
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THOMAS J. PRITZKER
PRESIDENT, THE HYATT FOUNDATION
Thank you very much. Every year, we bring this ceremony to a different location.
In addition to having the pleasure of presenting the prize, I have the honor to be able
to make a few comments about the venue in which we present the prize. Once again,
we gather at an incredibly important site in a great city to celebrate the Pritzker
Architectural Prize and its recipient, Glenn Murcutt.
Theres something about the City of Rome and this place, the Capitoline Hill, that
sets it apart from virtually any other site in which weve had the honor of presenting
the prize. This is the hill of Romulus. This is the hill of Jupiter. This is the hill of
the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. This is the hill from which Marcus
Aurelius, a man who is standing up above us, ruled Rome when Rome was the
center of the world and this hill was the center of Rome.
But as Rome went, so went the Capitoline Hill. Both would fall into decline over
the coming millennium. Some 1400 years later, our story turns to Pope Paul the
Third who is the last of the Renaissance Popes and the first Pope of the Counter-
Reformation. He recognized that the medieval church was in need of reformation,
but not i n t he
way t hat Lut her
would have it. This
Popes most critical
challenge was to find
a way to move the
Church into modern
times.
In order to open this
pathway, Pope Paul
turned to the world
of aesthetics, of art
and of architecture.
It was at this time
that Pope Paul the
Third commissioned
Mi chel angel o t o
transform this great
hill from what had
been the seat of an
ancient Roman, of a
Pagan Empire, to a place that could herald in the coming reforms. In 1536,
Michelangelo created what we see here tonight. He designed Romes first piazza.
This was the Renaissance, and so he rebuilt these faades. He designed the patterns
that you see beneath you, and he had the bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius placed
in the center of this great piazza. This is truly an awesome place to stand and be
able to give this prize. Tonight, we owe the use of this historic place to Mayor
Veltroni whos offices are here in Capitoline Hill. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for all
youve done and for loaning us your staff to help arrange this evening.
We must also thank one of our jurors for not only his dedicated service to the prize
in helping make the choices of the laureates for the past 18 years, but also for his
5503-Murcutt6.pmd 10/23/02, 9:06 AM 16
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assistance in making it possible for us to hold the ceremony here in Italy. I speak,
of course, of Avvocato Giovanni Agnelli and Mrs. Agnelli as well. I want to thank
them. Im sorry theyre not able to be here tonight.
Theres one more person that youve heard of that I have to speak to, and that is
singling out J. Carter Brown. Carter has been Chairman of the Jury since its
inception 24 years ago. This is the first ceremony since he helped found the prize
that hes missed, and we all wish him well and a speedy recovery. When we began
moving these ceremonies to different locations around the world, it was an effort to
enlarge the scope of the prize by not just honoring one living architect for his
lifetime achievements, but rather, we wanted to carry forward the underlying goal
of the prize which is focusing the publics awareness on great architecture and what
it can mean to peoples lives.
All you need to do is look around you tonight to understand the potential impact of
great architecture. Tonight, we stand in the midst of the era of globalization. We
are an American family. Were giving a prize to an Australian architect here atop
one of the great sites of Europe. We speak here of history, but Glen Murcutt is about
the present. We talk of globalization, but our laureate looks to humanize and adapt
his work to very, very local conditions.
While these are seemingly contradictions, in
fact, our laureates work can reconcile some of
the ideals of globalization with the needs of the
individual. The honoree tonight has studied
the past. He has visited most of the great
architecture here in Europe and in other parts of
the world. Hes absorbed the knowledge and
distilled it into his own unique way of designing
buildings in his own land of Australia.
That vast country, a continent unto itself with a
tremendous range of climates and environments,
calls out for architecture to suit each of its
various regions. Glenn Murcutt, working as a
one man operation, has tackled the task, and
over the past four decades has accomplished
some remarkable, scrupulously energy conscious
houses and buildings. They are so remarkable
that the jury chose him for this years honor.
While his primary focus is on houses, one of his
publ i c bui l di ng proj ects whi ch he di d i n
collaboration with his wife, Wendy, is called
the Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre.
Critics have called this a masterpiece. The jury
in their citation describes Glenn Murcutt as a
modernist, a naturalist, an environmentalist, a
humanist, economist, and an ecologist, and thats
all before they even get to the word architect.
The reason for all of these qualities being
mentioned is, of course, that his houses are fine
tuned to the land and to the weather. He selects
the materials he uses, whether it be metal,
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wood, glass, stone, brick or concrete, with a consciousness of the amount of energy
required to produce those materials in the first place. And he takes into account the
sun, the moon, the stars, light, water, and wind in working out the details of how his
house will function and how it will respond to the environment.
Ada Louise Huxtable, one of our capable jurors who has a certain way with words,
has summed it up by writing Glenn Murcutt has become a living legend, an
architect totally focused on shelter and the environment, with skills drawn from
nat ur e and t he
most sophisticated
design traditions
of t he modern
m o v e m e n t .
There s no way
I could improve
on Ada Louises
words. Glenn has
of t en s ai d t hat
growi ng up, hi s
f at her was a
p r o f o u n d
influence on him.
And one of hi s
f ather s f avori te
quotati ons f rom
Thoreaus writing was, since most of us spend our lives doing ordinary tasks, the
most important thing is to carry them out extraordinarily well. Glenn, the Pritzker
Jury finds that you are more than living up to that adage. Please join me. On behalf
of the Pritzker family and the Hyatt Foundation, we present the 2002 Pritzker
Architecture Prize to Glenn Murcutt.
GLENN MURCUTT
2002 LAUREATE
THE PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE
Mayor Veltroni, distinguished guests, friends, fellow architects, ladies and gentlemen.
To Mrs. Pritzker, the Pritzker family, and members of the Hyatt Foundation, you
have honored me with the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize, and I cannot tell you
just how happy I am to be receiving it. Thank you.
On entering private practice in late 1969, my father said, son, remember, you must
start off the way you would like to finish. And he added, for every compromise you
knowingly make, the resultant work will represent your next client. Tough yet
good advice.
Although I have worked as a sole practitioner without staff now for nearly 32 years,
I am supported by many others who have contributed to my love of architecture. To
fail to recognize those people would be unjust. Mies van der Rohe said, and I quote,
that with every good building, there was a very good client.
I have had so many wonderful clients throughout my career. There are others today
that have to wait for more than three years for me to start work on their projects. I
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have worked with two engineers, a father and his son, and how could our thinking
be realized without fine builders. There are writers, photographers and academics,
fellow architects, architecture schools in Argentina, Chile, Denmark, Finland, the
United States of America, and Australia, collaborators including my wife and family.
Each has been wonderfully supportive and many are here this afternoon to celebrate
with me this incredible event. Thank you, all of you.
And what more wonderful a space and place could there be to celebrate this event
than the Campidoglio in Rome? Just how fortunate can one be? The jury each year
considers hundreds of architects for the Pritzker Prize, many of whom are worthy of
receiving it. But, on the whole, only one is selected. Thats how fortunate one can
be.
As you may imagine, Ive had hundreds of interviews, letters and telephone calls of
wonderful support, but I cannot tell you how many times it has been said,
congratulations also go to the Jury. I start to wonder just whos prize is this? Yet
such awards tell us much about the jury as it does about the recipient. I am fully
aware of the effort and feelings of responsibility borne by each jury member for such
a prize.
To each member of this years Pritzker Prize Jury, I am honored, greatly honored,
to have been considered worthy of this prize. It is humbling to become a Pritzker
Laureate. I join recipients for whom I have the deepest respect, and today, several
I count as great friends. And this afternoon, they are here, as each of you, in my
honor. Thank you.
I grew up in Sydney about seven kilometers north of the city. The landscape was
typical of the coastal Sydney sandstone basin with its abundance of eucalyptus and
other remarkable native Australian plants. In this environment, I learned about the
propagation of the flora. I learned about which plants grew where, and which drew
the superb native birds, insects and animals. I learned about how a particular species
of plants grew differently, very differently, from the lowlands where the water table
was higher, where the wind pressures were less, where the nutrients were greater
from the very same type of plant at the top of a hill which was shaped by wind shear,
less moisture and few nutrients. This was about place, and was, for me, extremely
important. I learned about the strength, the delicacy, and the transparency of much
of the Australian landscapes, where the clarity of the light level separates the
elements compared to much of Europe where the light level serves to connect those
elements in the landscape. This gave me a clearer understanding of the legibility of
elements, of structure and delicacy within the Australian landscape which has
informed my work.
I grew up in a family of five children. There were seven pianos in a house of three
levels. The noise was terrible. There was always something being designed and built
around the house canoes, racing skiffs, houses. I learned I needed silence, much
silence, to work. This was a very important lesson for me. The amount of noise made
me want silence.
I was conscripted to the joinery shop of my father during school holidays which I
tended to resent at the time, but I did join in the construction of boats, building
staircases, windows and more. This was an extraordinary training though very tough
at times. From 1946 onwards, my father brought into Australia a number of journals,
particularly from the United States, and from them I learned about the works of
Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, Gordon Drake, Charles and Ray Eames
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and others. There were so many architects that I had learned about by the time that
I was 15 or 16. This had enormous influence on me.
I had difficulty with my education, but I finally entered the University of Technology
in 1956 where I undertook the part-time course in architecture. I was fortunate
enough to have had a teacher by the name of Noel Bazeley, who taught building
construction. He was largely dismissed by most students, but whilst the other groups
studied the construction of footings and foundations, floors, walls, ceiling joists and
roofs for the whole year of three terms, Bazeley gave us the subject continuity in
nature. What a wonderful subject, continuity in nature, discussed for a full term.
Having understood the importance of continuity in nature, the second term was
devoted to the understanding of continuity in nature related to the built environment.
For term three, we studied foundations, floors, walls and so on.
What a wonderful start for a young architect and for me particularly. This was an
extraordinary teaching for a man in 1956. I also worked in offices full time with
people like Neville Gruzman and Bill and Ruth Lucas who were very good architects
in the modern movement in Australia. I was fortunate enough to be working when
Lucas designed one of the lightest lightweight houses that Sydney had ever seen, one
of the most extraordinary works still. And I also worked with Allen and Jack, another
fine office. They were wonderful places to be learning architecture in the 50s and
60s.
During university, I failed the subject Sunshine and Shade. I had to repeat this
subject. I recognize this may have been a turning point for me in understanding the
importance and direction it might have been in shaping my future thinking. Failure
presents those great opportunities, it is not one of those things where you put your
tail between your legs and run. Failure is a wonderful learning experience.
My first trip after graduation in 1962 was to Europe the Greek islands and the
Nordic region. I learned about light, about continuity of space, about the nature and
limitations of materials, about the formation and carving of space, about inevitability
of movement, about unity of color, about reflection, and so many other lessons. To
make a material work hard is to seek to maximize its potential, and to make one
material do many things has been significant for me. Going to the Nordic region to
see the work of Jrn Utzon, those wonderful Kingo houses and Utzon's other
buildings, and on to Finland to see the work of Aalto was a great turning point in
my career. And it was my very good friend, Keith Cottier, who said to me whilst we
were working together in London, dont go back to the Greek Islands. You must
get on and see Aalto! Of all the people I know, you are the one who should be seeing
Aalto. I took his advice. I thank you, Keith.
In 1969, I entered practice. I had no work, but most of us were pretty optimistic in
those days. So what did I do in the first six months? I telephoned the various
producers of building products, those makers of superb extruded metal sections and
had them visit me. I was looking at all the possibilities of making standard
components and sections to do my detailing rather than designing every detail
element. It makes detailing very much simpler and quite strong.
The second trip overseas in 1973 included France and Spain. In Paris, I visited a
building I had seen from the street in 1962, the Maison de Verre. This building was
liberating. Designed around 1928 by Pierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvot, it was in
the modern period, but was not one of the isms of modernism, this work had life. It
was open-ended as a design, and it possesses timelessness. And what a wonderful
thing to find an architecture of the past that is alive, that's modern, and looks to the
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future. It was an absolutely important and critical experience at that time in my life.
I also met the great Spanish architect, Jos Coderch in Barcelona. He also did
something very important for me. I was extremely nervous about design, and I still
am extremely nervous about design, but then I thought there was something lacking
in me, that nervousness. Coderch said that at the age of 62, with every new project,
I am very nervous. And I've realized ever since that nervousness is an essential
ingredient with every new project, otherwise, one's work loses its cutting edge. He
said, I also tell my students, you must put into your work first effort, secondly, love,
and finally, and very Catholic, suffering. And even if the work is not great, it will
show care and dedication.
I have always believed in the act of discovery rather than creativity. Any work that
exists, or which has the potential to exist is related to discovery. We do not create
the work. I believe we, in fact, are discoverers. I see architecture as a path of
discovery and that is very important for me. I have learned through observation
rather than text. Even this acceptance speech has been an awful challenge in getting
it together.
My family will tell you that I have a restless spirit, and I know that is true. I have
always wanted to push more out of everything, in experiencing places, in pushing
boundaries; my students will tell you my studios are very memorable. And I push
myself. I know when whatever I am doing can be done better. I am relentless in
pursuing ideals.
Now I need to tell you a little bit about why I do things the way I do. I work alone
because I love silence, time to think and discard work less than I know is worthy of
architecture. By working alone, I freed myself of the pressures of responsibility
towards staff. I am able to travel and conduct design studios in many universities
internationally where I am able to teach and convey ideals and attitudes to students.
They are the architects of the future. Yet when a project warrants it, I work in
collaboration with those architects for whom I have great respect. That is the way Im
able to expand my practice. The work I cannot do, I send to young, very fine
architects I have taught, so that they are able to set up their own practices because,
as I said earlier, with every good building, there was a very good client. I have not
wanted to undertake large scale work because I know that I require a lot of variation
in stimulating my energies.
I tire of working on one project for too long, and larger projects mean years. To work
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on many smaller projects involves many clients. This provides the opportunity for
much experimentation and hence stimulation for me, and yet I am aware that there
are offices like Renzo Pianos and Frank Gehrys where they do achieve much of
what I expect, but at large scale. To take on work outside Australia would mean that
I would have to take on staff. As a sole operator, it would be impossible for me to
work overseas and in Australia at the same time because I would lose my practice in
Australia. Australia offers me hugely diverse landscapes and ranges of climates.
Being the size of the USA, or extending from the west coast of Spain to Israel, and
North Africa to the Arctic Circle, you can imagine the potential. Add to that, coastal,
inland and altitude, the possibilities are enormous.
Ironically, by understanding my imposed limitations, I found that opportunities
increased. Working with students and academics is enormously rewarding. Ive
established wonderful friendships with staff and students which satiates my somewhat
nomadic spirit.
This year, the jury identified a critical issue which is now assuming immense
importance in every aspect of our future survival respect for the environment. I
cannot pursue my architecture without considering the minimization of energy
consumption, simple and direct technologies, a respect for site, climate, place and
culture. Together, these disciplines represent for me a fantastic platform for
experimentation and expression. Of particular importance is the junction of the
rational and the poetic resulting hopefully in works that resonate and belong to
where they reside.
This award therefore goes well beyond ones self. It speaks of the pressing issues of
now and our future. It is relevant nationally and internationally and that surely is
very significant. It seems to me that underlying the jurys decision there is hope,
even as individuals that we as architects have an opportunity to make a difference
where we leave for future generations principles worthy of our time. Thank you.
BILL LACY
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
THE PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE
Thank you, Glen. And now to conclude our historic program here at the Campidoglio,
the Under-secretary Of The Minister Of Fine Arts And Cultural Affairs, the
Honorable Professor Vittorio Sgarbi.
THE HONORABLE PROFESSOR
VITTORIO SGARBI*
UNDER-SECRETARY OF THE MINISTER OF
FINE ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS
It is the second time that the Pritzker Prize, the most important prize for the architects of our
time, has been assigned in Italy. On 1990 it was given for the first time, in Venice, the artistic
capital of the East, and it was won by Aldo Rossi. Nowadays it has been assigned in Rome,
the artistic capital of the West, in a time when the debate between the ancient and the modern
architecture in Italy is extremely lively.
5503-Murcutt6.pmd 10/23/02, 9:06 AM 22
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Italy is based on landscapes and town planning contexts of exceptional-artistic historian value.
The architects who work in this particular condition have a extreme responsibility task, which
requires specific technical and historian-artistic expertise. If we consider certain testimonies
of the past civilization, if we consider Michelangelo or Rossetti, it would be easy to understand
how little the contemporary architects feel. But it happens sometimes that they want to have
the same importance of the great teachers of the past, that they want to be openly compared
to them, in order to rebuild where they have already built.
A supreme arrogance act, which reveals an inadequate cultural and intellectual preparation
to the problem, as if the modernity had the right to superimpose itself and to deform even the
noblest documents of our history. Being intelligently modern means having conscience and
respect of history, without looking for absurd comparisons which would only carry to
ideological extremism.
Nobody can ask to the architects to have the historical and social conscience of all the places
in which they are called to work. The
local buyers, at every level, have to inform
them about the things they do not know,
they have to define a level of ideal
feasibility, the architect can work on and
can prepare his practical project.
Architects must be helped in their task,
they cannot only be considered
demiurghi, everything is granted to. It
was not so at the times of Michelangelo
and Rossetti and it cannot be so nowadays.
The greatest architecture is always the
union between the buyers and the
architects projects. If one of the two
elements misses, the result can be hardly
the same. Everywhere is full of wonderful
and modern architectures, hated by those
who live in, only because the projects
have not taken into consideration their demands, their expectations, their mental horizons.
They are failures, beautiful to see, but however failures.
I still believe that the best architecture, as it was in the past, must exist only for its time. I think
that the modern architecture should establish with the past a serene, cultured, meditated,
mature and not conflictual relationship. I think that the modern architecture should build,
instead of rebuild; it should invent new places, and civilize where civilization does not exist.
It should be done without the desire to be the centre of attention, with the consciousness to
develop a role which must not entertain the minority, but serve the majority.
Nothing to say when Frank O. Gehry builds in Bilbao in a substantial desert, or Renzo Piano
in an abandonment zone in Rome; however it would not have sense if these architects were
left free to act in the same way also in the historical centres, where through the time they have
reached inviolable balances .
When one moves into the past, it is necessary to have another kind of sensitivity. One should
act as Carlo Scarpa did in Castelvecchio: not hide, not falsify, but establish a consistent
dialectic relationship with the historical document, one goes to touch.
Although he has never had significant opportunities to compare him to the ancients, Glenn
Murcutt, the winner of the Pritzker prize for this year, represents this way of interpreting the
architecture.
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Murcutt was born and acts in Australia, in a world where the ancients are considered in an
antithetic way, if compared to the European way. Murcutt works on bench-scale but for
many buyers, far from every temptation to give a new form to the world, he works to solve
practical problems, to look for a right union with the nature, in order to get from the nature,
from its ordinary and strangest appearances, the right inspiration for technical and formal
innovative solutions.
Murcutt is an excellent example of a social architect in a time full of asocial architects,
individualists, exhibitionists, devoted to the affirmation of their point of view against
everything and everyone. Murcutt is absolutely modern, but his way to be in front of the nature,
in his measure to man dimension, there is a classicism bottom; for instance, it is the same in
the project for the Bingie Bingie house, in which the relationship of necessity with the place
is seen by the architect in the same way Palladio felt for his villas.
This is not a prerogative of the ancient times: coming at more recent years, I find analogous
propensities to increase the value of the relationship with the nature of the place, its colours
and its moods, in Louis Kahns works and even more in the Mexican Luis Barragans works,
without remembering the Scandinavian schools examples.
My wish is that this recognition to Murcutt marks a renewed tendency in contemporary
architecture, a reaction to gigantism, a renewed pleasure for the continuity between nature
and civilization. Because at the end I consider good architecture as the continuation in earth
of Gods work.
BILL LACY
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
THE PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE
Congratulations again Glenn Marcus Murcutt. Pritzker Prize Laureate 2002. And
on behalf of the Pritzker family, thank you for being here this evening.
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Museum of LocaI History and
Tourist Office (Phase One)
Kempsey, New South WaIes
AustraIia
1981-1982
(left)
Fredericks House
Jamberoo, New South WaIes
AustraIia
1981-1982
(left and above)
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Magney House
Bingie Bingie
South Coast, New South WaIes
AustraIia
1982-1984
(this page and opposite)
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Arthur & Yvonne Boyd
Education Centre
RiversdaIe, New South WaIes
AustraIia
1996-1999
(this page and opposite)
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BowraI House
Southern HighIands, New South WaIes
AustraIia
1997-2001
(this page and opposite)
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Marika-AIderton House
YirrkaIa Community
Eastern Arnheim Land,
Northern Territory
AustraIia
1991-1994
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THE ARCHITECTURE OF
GLENN MARCUS MURCUTT
BY
KENNETH FRAMPTON
WARE PROFESSOR OF ARCHITECTURE
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
PLANNING AND PRESERVATION
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK
Seventeen years serve to separate the award of the Pritzker Prize to Glenn Murcutt from the first
comprehensive monograph on his work; Philip Drews Leaves of Iron published in Sydney in 1985. Despite
its somewhat indifferent distribution, this book had the effect of consolidating the nascent Murcutt myth
which was by then already an indicator of the resurgence of Australian architecture. Just over a decade
before, that is to say, by the earlier 70s, Murcutt had already established something of a reputation as
a designer of elegant Neo-Miesian houses culminating in his single storey, steel framed Laurie Short
house, built in the Terry Hills near Sydney, a work which already departed in significant ways from the
abstract purity of Mies van der Rohes Farnsworth House (1950) by which it had been inspired. Apart
from its empirical spatial organization, this distanciation was never more evident than in two seemingly
inconsequential but nonetheless telltale features; first, the relatively intimate use of terra-cotta and brick
paving, a treatment reminiscent of Philip Johnsons Glass House, New Canaan (1949), and second, the
provision of sliding louvred screens on the eastern faade in order to shield the living room and patio
from the low-angle sun.
The three and a half month world tour that Murcutt undertook in 1973, beginning in Mexico City
and Los Angeles, traversing the States and going on to Western Europe with a stop-off in Mykonos before
Im very interested in buildings that adapt to changes in climatic
conditions according to the seasons, buildings capable of responding to our
physical and psychological needs in the way that clothing does. We dont
turn on the air-conditioning as we walk through the streets in high summer.
Instead, we change the character of the clothing by which we are protected.
Layering and changeability: this is the key, the combination that is worked
into most of my buildings. Occupying one of these buildings is like sailing
a yacht; you modify and manipulate its form and skin according to seasonal
conditions and natural elements, and work with these to maximize the
performance of the building. This involvement with the building also
assists in the care for it. I am concerned about the exploitation of the
natural environment in order to modify the internal climate of buildings.
Architects must confront the perennial issues of light, heat, and humidity
control yet take responsibility for the method and the materials by which,
and out of which, a building is made. The considerations, context, and the
landscape are some of the factors that are constantly at work in my
architecture.
Glenn Murcutt, 1996
Technology, Place and Architecture
Jerusalem Seminar in Architecture
New York, Rizzoli 1998 p.62
5503-Murcutt6.pmd 10/23/02, 9:10 AM 33
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returning to Australia, had a catalytic impact on the rest of his career, most decisively perhaps because of
three experiences; his passing encounters with the Californian and Catalan regionalists Craig Ellwood
and Jos Antonio Coderch and the epiphany of Pierre Chareaus Maison de Verre in Paris (1932) that in
effect demonstrated the possibility of evolving an astylistic architecture in which tectonic invention was
inseparable from poetic form. One should also mention in passing the one other French influence that
deeply a ffected Murcutts parti pris in the mid-70s, namely, Jean Prouvs Maison Tropicale of 1949.
Murcutts brief contact with the Greek island vernacular took him back to his roots, to the relatively
primitive environment of his childhood in New Guinea, to the nature writings of Thoreau much cherished
by his father, and above all, to the realization that a revitalized Australian architecture would have to be
grounded not only in its greatly varying climate and landscape, together with its exotic flora and fauna,
but also in the repressed Aboriginal culture that was to have such a decisive influence on the evolution
of Murcutts domestic architecture. It was this plus a profound respect for the traditional Aboriginal ethic
of touching the earth lightly the moral principle of not disturbing nature more than is absolutely
necessary that led to Murcutts conception of a new Australian domus in the form of a long and narrow,
light-weight, roofwork, comparable in its sheltering function to the bower of a tree or, in more
morphological terms, to the turned up collar of an overcoat that shelters from the wind while subtly
opening its front towards the sun.
Lastly, there was the ubiquitous, long forgotten, corrugated iron roof vernacular of the Australian
outback to which Murcutt turned immediately after his world tour to create the louvred Maria Short
farmhouse at Crescent Head, overlooking the Maria River in 1974, his second house for the Short family
in less than two years. In this canonical piece, he succeeded in combining the Semperian primitive hut
of 1852 with the tectonic refinement of Mies Farnsworth House, along with a vertebrae approach to basic
structural frame taken from Prouv's Maison Tropicale. It is just this somewhat unlikely conjunction that
inaugurated a spectacular series of light-weight, single-storey houses, elevated clear of the ground, framed
in either timber or steel, or in a mixture of both and invariably roofed and/or clad in corrugated metal.
It is important to note that the linear room arrangement and the shallow depth derived from the need to
maximize cross-ventilation for every room while simultaneously deploying the roof overhang and the
back of the house, facing south, in such a way as to eclipse the noonday high summer sun and to admit
at the same time in winter. Over the next fifteen years, he would build well over thirty houses in this
unique outback manner, ringing the changes on every conceivable frame, truss, louver, vent, gutter,
down-pipe, and roof profile, varying from mono- to double-pitch, to arcuated form before arriving at the
metal-roofed but otherwise totally timber-clad, Marika-Alderton House, completed in East Arnheim Land
in 1994.
Without denying the tectonic elegance of such masterpieces as the Nicholas House, Mount Irvine
(1980), the Fredericks House (1982), Jamberoo (page 25), and the Simpson-Lee House (1994), Mount
Wilson (pages 42-43), one may surely argue that
t he Mari ka-Al dert on house ( page 32) i s a
particularly canonical work for many reasons, not
the least of which is the fact that it was built for an
Aboriginal client, the artist Marmburra Banduk
Marika and her partner Mark Alderton. It is
significant that it was erected in the face of stiff
local opposition and that it would in all probability
never have been realized had it not been for the
fact that Marika was a member of the Australia
council and on the board of the National Gallery.
The realization of this house had the effect of
posing an alternative to the standard of the
Aboriginal housing in the Northern Territory, and
Murcutt has since realized another house in the
same region for an Aboriginal client.
The Mari ka-Al derton house embodi ed a
number of maj or i nnovati ons, i ncl udi ng i ts
NichoIas Farm House, Mount Irvine.
New South WaIes, AustraIia - 1981-1982
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assembly from prefabricated timber components and its introduction of outriding fins that aside from
reducing lateral wind velocity, and shielding the interior from low angle sun an sunrise and sunset, also
provides for privacy between adjacent bedrooms. Built about an elegant structural steel frame finished in
aluminum, and fitted with equally elegant aluminum roof vents so as to discharge the build-up of air
pressure under cyclonic conditions, it is all together more cubistic and substantial than his earlier
architecture. Thus, while the fabric is still relatively light-weight, the house when fully opened out to catch
the breeze, assumes a more palpable, three-dimensional plastic character; an effect that is due in no small
degree to the dense red ochre of its fabric when set against the gleaming aluminum finish of its
superstructure and roof.
Strangely enough for someone who has been in practice for over a quarter of a century, Murcutt has
realized very few public buildings, first, the Museum of Local History, Kempsey NSW, built in three
consecutive phases, between 1976 and 1988, second, the Visitors Information Center, Kakadu National
Park in the Northern Territory with Troppo Architects (1994) and, at a much more monumental scale, the
Arthur & Yvonne Boyd Education Center, in Riversdale, NSW (1996-99) designed in collaboration with
Wendy Lewin and Reg Lark. Where Kempsey and Kakadu were really expanded versions of Murcutts
corrugated roof, long house typology, the Boyd Center is in some measure an amplification of the syntax
of the Marika-Alderton House. At the same time, its giant, upswept entry canopy, framing the surrounding
bucolic landscape, uncannily recalls, together with its large multi-purpose hall, the Doricist massing and
proportions of the stone-clad promenade and peristyle of Asplunds Woodland Cemetery, Stockholm
(1940). This all but neoclassical character stands in strong contrast to the proliferation of the bedroom fins
that issue from the flanks of the tripartite residential block, located to one side behind the monumental
portico and hall. Despite these syntactical innovations, one notes how Murcutt still maintains the
outback trope of low-pitched corrugated metal roofs in the form of articulated rain and sun shields,
covering different segments of the complex.
A more systematic separation between sun and rain roofs will occur in the next public complex of
consequence, namely, the Lightning Ridge, NSW, multi-purpose center currently under development. In
this case, the shade-roofing will be made up of retractable white cloth stretched on top of steel framing
supported by pipe columns. This serves as a protective verandah extending around the perimeter of an
elongated complex made up of two converging single-storey wings. The rooms themselves are variously
covered by insulated rain roofing, constructed out of monopitched or curved corrugated zinc or iron
sheeting. The solid perimeter walls are to be built of an earth/cement mix while openings within these
enclosures will be variously filled with sliding components and louvered panels much in the manner of
Rudolf Schindlers Kings Road House, Los Angeles of 1921. This complex assembly promises to reconcile
the rustic directness of the Japanese tea house tradition with the free-style montage of occidental
constructivism at its best.
The climatic affinity obtaining between New South Wales and California surfaces at this juncture
although Murcutts anti-air conditioning response to the exigencies of climate is perhaps a more sensitive
and appropriate approach than what presently passes for normative practice in Southern California today.
This is not only evident in the sustainable aspirations of his work, but also in his attitude towards landscape
that promises to be particularly well handled in Lightning Ridge where the complex will be folded into the
contours and where the promenade linking the two wings will be elegantly paved in cement slabs and the
whole will be surrounded by dense stands of eucalyptus and bottle brushes. The net result will be a
building that is all too literally inseparable from the landscape.
Murcutts general principles as set forth in the gloss at the beginning of this essay surely express more
adequately than any sequential account of a single project, the fundamentally ethical intention sustaining
his architecture. Designing with nature, to paraphrase Ian McCarg, is not a mere slogan with Murcutt, and
in all of his works he has remained extremely aware of the way in which every intervention impacts the
ecosystem in which one is working, from the drainage of storm water to the modification of native
vegetation, from the erosion of soil to the embodiment of energy in all its hidden aspects.
To this end, he has habitually adopted a series of strategies to mitigate this impact both within and
without the confines of his architecture; from the provision of southern thermal walls to ward off the winter
cold, to the opening of the structure to the north to admit the winter sun; from the provision of storage tanks
5503-Murcutt6.pmd 10/23/02, 9:10 AM 35
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to collect rainwater to the manipulable screening of windows that open onto the landscape, from the
installation of vents and fans to facilitate cross ventilation to paving walkways in dark gray tiles that absorb
the heat during the day and release it at night. This is a didactic, proto-ecological building culture that
in no way inhibits the poetic potential of the field. On the contrary, it enhances it by deepening its rapport
with nature. It is this finally that bestows on Murcutts work a relevance for world architecture as a whole
and it is also this that assures the profundity and promise of his approach in terms of its further
development.
GIenn Murcutt pIans for Lightning Ridge MuItipurpose Centre
5503-Murcutt6.pmd 10/23/02, 9:10 AM 36
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C. FIetcher & A. Page House
Kangaroo VaIIey,
New South WaIes, AustraIia
1997-2000
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Magney House
Paddington, Sydney
New South WaIes, AustraIia
1986-1990
(this page and opposite)
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Marie Short House
Kempsey
New South WaIes, AustraIia
1974-75
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BaII-Eastaway House
GIenorie, Sydney
New South WaIes, AustraIia
1980-1983
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Simpson-Lee House
Mount WiIson
New South WaIes, AustraIia
1989-1994
(this page and opposite)
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FACT SUMMARY
Glenn Murcutt
2002 Laureate, Pritzker Architecture Prize
12 Markham Close
Mosman
Sydney, NSW 2088
Australia
Biographical Notes
Birthdate and Place:
July 25, 1936
London, England
Education
Diploma of Architecture
University of New South Wales
Technical College
Sydney, Australia
Awards and Honors
1973 Gray and Mulroney Award - RAlA
1973-99 Received 25 Royal Australian lnstitute of
Architecture Awards (RAlA) - New South Wales
(NSW) and Northern Territory (NT)
State Awards
1973-99 Two Sulman Awards for Public Housing NSW
Six Wilkinson Awards for Housing NSW
One Tracy Award for Public Buildings NT
One Burnett Award for Housing NT
NationaI Awards
1973-2000 One Timber in Architecture Award
One Steel in Architecture Award of the Decade
Two Sir Zelman Cowan Awards for Public
Buildiings
One Sir Zelman Cowan Commendation for
Public Buildings
Two Robin Boyd Awards for Housing
One Robin Boyd Commendation for Housing
One National Jury, Special Award for Aboriginal
Housing
InternationaI Awards and Honors
1982 Biennale Exhibition - Paris, France
1985 Commonweath Association of Architects (CAA)
Award for an Architecture of its Place and
Culture
1988 Jury member - AlA/Sunset Magazine Western
Division AlA Awards
1990-91 Jury member - international competition for the
Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre, New
Caledonia - conducted by the Mission
lnterministerielle des Grande Travaux - Paris,
France
1991 Biennale Exhibition - Venice, ltaly
1992 Alvar Aalto Medal - Helsinki, Finland
Gold Medal - Royal Australian lnstitute of
Architecture
1993 Life Fellow - Royal Australian lnstitute of
Architecture
1995 Honorary Doctorate of Science - University of
New South Wales
1996 Biennale Exhibition - Venice, ltaly
Order of Australia (AO)
Chair, international jury for student competition
for a shelter for Alvar Aalto's boat, Jyvaskyla,
Finland
1997 Honorary Fellow - American lnstitute of
Architects
Honorary Fellow - Royal lnstitue of British
Architects
1997-98 Chair, lnternational jury for a competition -
Peace Park - Gallipoli Penninsula, Turkey
1998 Richard Neutra Award for Architecture and
Teaching from the Neutra Foundation and
CalPoly, Pomona, California, USA
1999 The Green Pin lnternational Award for
Architecture and Ecology from the Academy
of Architects, Denmark
Teaching
1970-79 Design Tutor, University of Sydney
1985 Visting Professor,
University of New South Wales
1989-97 Visiting Critic, Master of Architecture,
University of Melbourne
1990 Visiting Critic, Graduate School of Fine Arts,
University of Pennsylvania
1990-92 Visiting Professor,
University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
1991-95 Adjunct Professor, Graduate School of Fine
Arts, University of Pennsylvania
1991 Visiting Distinguished Architect,
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
1992 Visiting Professor,
PNG University of Technology, Lae PNG
1994 Visiting Professor,
University of Technology, Helsinki, Finland
1995 Visiting Professor,
University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
1996 Visiting Professor,
University of Hawaii, Honolulu
1997 O'Neill Ford Chair,
University of Texas, Austin, Texas
Visiting Professor,
PNG University of Technology, Lae PNG
1998 Thomas Jefferson Professor,
University of Virginia
1999 Visiting Professor, School of Architecture,
Aarhus, Denmark
2000 Visiting Professor,
University of California at Los Angeles
2001 William Henry Bishop Visiting Professorial
Chair - Yale University, New Haven, CT,
USA
2002 Ruth and Norman Moore Visiting Professor,
Washington University in St. Louis, Mo
Distinguished J.L. Constant Lecturer,
University of Kansas, Lawrence
2000 Kenneth F. Brown Asia Pacific Culture &
Architecture Design Award
Jury Member - National Competition - Forum
Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra, Australia
Jury Member - Spirit of Nature, Wood
Architecture lnternational Award, Finland
2001 Chair, Jury for the Aga Khan Award
Thomas Jefferson Medal for Architecture -
Monticello, Charlottesville, VA, USA
Honorary Fellow of the Royal Canadian
lnstitute of Architects
2002 Jury Member - Thomas Jefferson Medal
New lnternational Award for an Architect who
has influenced thinking in Architecture from
the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
Addresses and Lectures
1974-99 Addressed all Schools of Architecture and
RAlA in all states of Australia
1985 Architectural Association London, UK
1987 Colegio de Arquitectos de Mexico,
Mexico City
1988-91 Architectural League New York, USA
1988 Visiting Architect, Architecture Week,
Auckland, New Zealand
Films and Videos
Touch the Earth Lightly by Peter Hyatt, Melbourne, Australia
The Tin Man by Catherine Hunter, Channel 9 Network Australia
5503-Murcutt6.pmd 10/23/02, 9:13 AM 44
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1988 Waigani Seminar, Port Moresby,
Papua, New Guinea
North Solomons Province University,
Bougainville, Papua, New Guinea
Royal Australian lnstitute of Architects
Conference
1989 OAF Oslo and Trondheim, Norway
RlBA, London and Winchester, UK
Danish Academy/lnstitute of Architects,
Copehagen, Denmark
Finish Association of Architects SAFA,
Helsinki, Finland
University of Milan, ltaly
1990 ACSA/AlA Conference, Cranbrook Academy,
Ml, USA
GSFA, University of Pennsylvania;
University of Texas, Austin, RlSD; Arizona
State University, Phoenix; Harvard Graduate
School of Design; CalPoly Pomona, CA and
CalPoly San Luis Obispo, CA; University of
New Mexico, Albuquerque; University of
Virginia, Charlottesville; Frank Lloyd Wright
Foundation, Taliesin West; Parsons School of
Design New York; Architectural League,
Vancouver, Canada
1992 Papua New Guinea University of Technology,
Lae Papua, New Guinea; PNG lnstitute of
Architects, Port Moresby, Papua, New Guinea
Alvar Aalto Symposium, Helsinki, Finland
1994 Virginia Polytechnic lnstitute/State
University Blacksburg, USA; Virginia Design
Forum; GSFA University of Pennsylvania;
Bartlett School, London, UK; University of
Technology, Helsinki, Finland; School of
Architecture/SAFA Oulu, Finland; Architecture
School/Association of Architects, Stockholm,
Sweden; Association of Architects, Basel,
Switzerland
1995 AlA/Rice Design Alliance, Houston, Texas;
AlA Salt Lake City; Pompidou Centre, Paris;
Architectural Association London, UK;
Schools of Architecture in Tubingen,
Darmstadt, Karlsruhe, and Kaiserslautern,
Germany and Venice, ltaly; Alvar Aalto
Symposium, Jyvaskyla, Finland
1996 Hawaii University; Jerusalem Seminar in
Architecture, lsrael
1997 Mississippi AlA; University of Texas,
Austin;Texas A&M; University of Florida;
University of California at Berkeley;
University of Mississippi; PNG lnstitute of
Architects, Port Moresby, Papua, New Guinea
1998 CalPoly Pomona, University of Washington,
Seattle; Alaska Design Forum, Anchorage
and AlA Fairbanks, Alaska
1999 Danish Academy of Architects/School of
Architecture, Copenhagen, Denmark and
Aarhus; Columbia University/AlA New York;
Montana State University/AlA, Bozeman, MT;
Lloyd Rees Lecture Museum of
Contemporary Art, Sydney; Canberra
Museum and Gallery
2000 Maki Lecture, Washington University, St.
Louis, MO; University of California, Los
Angeles; Portland Museum, Maine; Federation
of lcelandic Architects, Reykjavik, lceland; Alvar
Aalto Symposium, Jyvaskyla, Finland.
2001 Lectures in Caracas, Venezuela; Lecce, ltaly;
University of North Carolina, Raleigh;
University of Virginia, Charlottesville;
Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago and
Valparaiso, Chile; Royal lArchitectural
lnstitute of Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia
2002 Lectures in Bangkok, Thailand; University of
Washington in St. Louis, Mo; University of
Arizona, Tucson; University of Kansas,
Lawrence; Danish Academy of Fine Arts,
Fredericia, Denmark; TAF lnternational
Celebration of Architecture, "RROS 2002"
Norway
1960-1962 Devitt house, Beacon Hill, Sydney
(altered since completion)
1968-1972 Daphne Murcutt house, Seaforth,
Sydney
1968-1969 Glenn Murcutt house, Mosman, Sydney
(alteration/addition; altered since
completion)
1968-1970 Glenn Murcutt house, Beauty Point,
Sydney (project)
1969-1972 Douglas Murcutt house, Belrose, Sydney
1970 Robertson house, East Killara, Sydney
(alteration/addition; altered since
completion)
Hinder house, Gordon, Sydney
(alteration/addition to a Syd Ancher
house)
1971 Lowy house, Mosman, Sydney
Walker house, Killara, Sydney
(alteration/addition to a Syd Ancher
house)
1972 Needham house, Woy Woy, Sydney (in
association with Guy Maron)
Restaurant Paragon, Katoomba, New
South Wales (renovation)
Omega Project house for Ralph
Symonds Homes
Cullen house, Balmain, Sydney
(completed 1974)
Armstrong house, Grenfell, NSW
(completed 1980)
1972-1973 Laurie Short house, Terrey Hills,
Sydney, NSW
1973 Luscombe house, Bayview, Sydney
Wallis house, Manly, Sydney
(renovation/addition)
1974 Marie Short house, Kempsey, New South
Wales (completed 1975)(extension 1980)
Hetherton house, Balmain, Sydney
(completed 1982)
1975 Jureidini house, Mosman, Sydney
(alteration/addition of Murcutt's former
house)
1975 Meehan house, Kempsey, New South
Wales (completed 1977)
Redmond house, Giralang, Canberra
(completed 1977)
1976 Stitt house, Longueville, New South
Wales (alteration/addition; completed
1977)
Done house, Mosman, Sydney
(alteration/addition; completed 1978)
1977 Ockens house, Cromer, Sydney
(completed 1978)
Reynolds house, Woollahra, Sydney
(completed 1979)
Nicholas farm house, Mount lrvine, New
South Wales (completed 1980)
Berowra Waters lnn, Sydney (phase 1,
completed 1978)
1978 Young house, Jindabyne, New South
Wales (alteration/addition; completed
1980; since altered)
Carruthers farmhouse, Mount lrvine,
New South Wales (completed 1980)
1979 Project house for Devon-Symonds Pty
Ltd, North Rocks, New South Wales
lsherwood house, Mosman, Sydney
(alteration/addition; since altered)
Hawksford Point Piper, Sydney (project)
Nielsen Park Kiosk, Vaucluse, Sydney
(project)
Crouch house, Cobbity, Sydney (in
association with Wendy Lewin and Alec
Tzannes; project)
Offices for Marsh & Freedmann,
Woolloomooloo, Sydney (conversion,
completed 1980, since altered)
Chronological LIst of Selected Projects
and Built Works
Leaves of Iron - Glenn Murcutt by Philip Drew
Three Houses - Architecture in Detail by E. M. Farrelly
Glenn Murcutt - Works and Projects by Francoise Fromonot
Touch This Earth Lightly by Philip Drew
Glenn Murcutt by Flora Giardiello Postiglione
Glenn Murcutt - A Singular Architectural Practice Practice
Images Group by Haig Beck and Jackie Cooper
Publications
5503-Murcutt6.pmd 10/23/02, 9:13 AM 45
46
Hornery house, Warrawee, Sydney (in
association with Civil & Civic, completed
1982)
1980 Competition for the renovation of the
'Engehurst' villa designed by the architect
John Verge, in association with the
conference 'Pleasures of Architecture'
organized by Royal Australia lnstitute of
Architects, Sydney
Markovic house, Palm Beach, Sydney (in
association with Wendy Lewin and Alex
Tzannes; project)
Fountain house, McMahons Point, Sydney
(in association with Wendy Lewin and Alec
Tzannes)
Uther house, Hunters Hill, Sydney
Murcutt-Robertson house, Kempsey, New
South Wales (extension to Marie Short
house)
Carpenter house, Point Piper, Sydney
(completed 1983)
Zachary's Restaurant, Terrey Hills,
Sydney (completed 1983)
Ball-Eastaway house and studio, Glenorie,
Sydney (Graham Jahn and Rad Milatich,
assistants; Alec Tzannes, site visits;
completed 1983)
1981 Ward house, Hornsby Heights,
Sydney (project)
Maestri house, Blueys Beach, New South
Wales
Museum of Local History and Tourist
Office, Kempsey, New South Wales
(phase 1 completed 1982
Fredericks house, Jamberoo, New South
Wales (Wendy Lewin, assistant;
completed 1982)
New Catholic Presbytery and Community
Hall, Mona Vale, Sydney (Graham Jahn,
assistant; completed 1983)
Munro house, Bingara, New South Wales
(Graham Jahn, assistant; completed 1983)
Rabbit house, Merewether, New South
Wales (Graham Jahn, assistant; completed
1983)
1982 Ramsden & Kee house, Blackheath, New
South Wales (completed 1983)
Newport house, Hunters Hill, Sydney
(addition)
Berowra Waters lnn, Sydney (phase 2;
Graham Jahn, assistant; completed 1983)
Magney house, Bingie Bingie, South Coast,
Sydney (completed 1984)
1983 Finlay house, Hallidays Point, New South
Wales (John Smith, assistant; Alec
Tzannes, site visits; completed 1984)
Littlemore house, Woollahra, Sydney
(Wendy Lewin, assistant; completed 1986)
Aboriginal Alcoholic Rehabilitation Centre,
Bennelong's Haven, Kinchela Creek, New
South Wales (project 1983-85)
Pratt house, extension of Raheen, Kew,
Melbourne (in association with Melbourne
architects Bates, Smart & McCutcheon;
completed 1994)
1985 Edwards-Neil house, Lindfield, New South
Wales (project 1985-88)
Herbarium and Visitors Centre, Botanical
Gardens, Wollongong, New South Wales
(project)
1986 Field Study Centre, Cape Tribulation, Far
North Queensland (project 1986-87)
Harrison house, Waverley, Sydney (in
association with Alec Tzannes; phase 1
completed 1989; phase 2 completed 1991)
Magney house, Paddington, Sydney
(renovation; James Grose, site assistant;
Andrew Mc Nally and Sue Barnsley,
landscape architects; completed 1990)
1987 Carey house, Springwood, New South
Wales
Minerals and Mining Museum, Broken Hill,
New South Wales (project 1987-89; Reg
Lark, assistant)
Museum of Local History, Kempsey, New
South Wales (phase 2, completed 1988)
Cultural Centre for the University of North
Solomon, Arawa, Papua, New Guinea
(project 1987-88)
Offices for Marsh & Freedman, Redfern,
Sydney (renovation/conversion, completed
1989)
1988 Done house, Mosman, Sydney (Reg Lark,
assistant; completed 1991)
Meagher house, Bowral, New South Wales
(Andrea Wilson, assistant; James Grose,
site assistant; completed 1992)
Muston house, Seaforth, Sydney
(completed 1992)
1989 Simpson-Lee house, Mount Wilson, New
South Wales (completed 1994)
1991 Marika-Alderton house, Aboriginal
Community, Yirrkala, Eastern Arnhem
Land, Northern Territory (completed 1994)
1992 Preston house, St. lves, Sydney (Sue
Barnsley, landscape architect;
(completed 1994)
Landscape lnterpretaion Centre, National
Park of Kakadu, Northern Territory (in
association with Troppo Architects,
Darwin; completed 1994))
Murcutt guest studio, Kempsey, New
South Wales
1993 Conversion of Customs house
(architects Mortimer Lewis, James
Barnet, Walter Liberty Vernon, then
George Oakschott) Circular Quay,
Sydney (in association with Wendy
Lewin of Lewin Tzannes Architects)
Williams house, Pearl Beach, New South
Wales
1996 Douglas Murcutt house, Woodside,
Adelaide, South Australia
(completed 1999)
Olsen house, Norton Summit, South
Australia
Ken and Judy Done
Gallery,Mosman, Sydney
Hardeman-McGrath house,
Birchgrove, Sydney (extension with
Nicholas Murcutt)
Taylor house, Barrington Tops, New
South Wales
Another Aboriginal house,
Yirrkala, Northern Territory
(completed 1998-99)
1995-98 Schnaxl house, Newport, Sydney
1998 House at Mt. White, New South
Wales (project)
1996-98 Beckwith/Deakins Terrace house,
Paddington, Sydney
1996-99 'Bowali' Visitors lnformation Centre,
Kakadu National Park, Northern
Territory(with Troppo Architects,
Darwin, NT)
Arthur & Yvonne Boyd Education
Centre, Riversdale, New South
Wales (in association with Wendy
Lewin and Reg Lark)
1997- House Bowral, Southern Highlands,
2001 NSW
1997- C. Fletcher & A. Page house,
2000 Kangaroo Valley
1997- Lightning Ridge Community Facility
2002- Works in Progresss or Under
Contruction
New house, Yorke Peninsula, South
Australia
New house, Merewether, Newcastle,
New South Wales
Winery, Lake George, New South
Wales
Sales Outlet, Winery, Mudgee, New
South Wales (in association with
Wendy Lewin)
Eco-Hotel, Great Ocean Road,
Victoria (in association with Wendy
Lewin)
Convention/conference/
accommodation facility, Barrington
Tops, New South Wales (in
association with Wendy Lewin)
New house, Kew, Melbourne, Victoria
Extensions to two houses at Mt.
irvine, New South Wales (early
farmhouses designed in 1978 by
Glenn Murcutt)
Extension to farmhouse at
Jamberoo, designed by Glenn
Murcutt in 1981-82
LittIemore House
WooIIahra, Sydney
New South WaIes,
AustraIia
(left)
BaII-Eastaway House
GIenorie, Sydney
New South WaIes,
AustraIia
1980-1983
(right)
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MineraIs and Mining Museum
Broken HiII
New South WaIes, AustraIia
(three drawings below)
Laurie Short House
Terrey HiIIs, Sydney
New South WaIes, AustraIia
1972-1973
Done House
Mosman, Sydney
New South WaIes, AustraIia
1988-1991
(above and right)
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Done House
Mosman, Sydney
New South WaIes, AustraIia
1988-1991
(this page and opposite)
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Murcutt Guest Studio
Kempsey,
New South WaIes, AustraIia
1992
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51
HISTORY OF THE
PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE
The Pritzker Architecture Prize was established by The Hyatt Foundation in 1979 to honor
annually a living architect(s) whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent,
vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the
built environment through the art of architecture. It has often been described as architectures most
prestigious award or as the Nobel of architecture.
The prize takes its name from the Pritzker family, whose international business interests are
headquartered in Chicago. They have long been known for their support of educational, religious, social
welfare, scientific, medical and cultural activities. Jay A. Pritzker, who founded the prize with his wife,
Cindy, died on January 23, 1999. His eldest son, Thomas J. Pritzker has become president of The Hyatt
Foundation.
He explains, As native Chicagoans, it' s not surprising that our family was keenly aware of
architecture, living in the birthplace of the skyscraper, a city filled with buildings designed by architectural
legends such as Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and many others. He continues,
In 1967, we acquired an unfinished building which was to become the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. Its soaring
atrium was wildly successful and became the signature piece of our hotels around the world. It was
immediatly apparent that this design had a pronounced affect on the mood of our guests and attitude of
our employees. While the architecture of Chicago made us cognizant of the art of architecture, our work
with designing and building hotels made us aware of the impact architecture could have on human
behavior. So in 1978, when we were approached with the idea of honoring living architects, we were
responsive. Mom and Dad (Cindy and the late Jay A. Pritzker) believed that a meaningful prize would
encourage and stimulate not only a greater public awareness of buildings, but also would inspire greater
creativity within the architectural profession. He went on to add that he is extremely proud to carry on
that effort on behalf of his mother and the rest of the family.
Many of the procedures and rewards of the Pritzker Prize are modeled after the Nobel Prize.
Laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize receive a $100,000 grant, a formal citation certificate, and
since 1987, a bronze medallion. Prior to that year, a limited edition Henry Moore sculpture was presented
to each Laureate.
Nominations are accepted from all nations; from government officials, writers, critics, academicians,
fellow architects, architectural societies, or industrialists, virtually anyone who might have an interest in
advancing great architecture. The prize is awarded irrespective of nationality, race, creed, or ideology.
The nominating procedure is continuous from year to year, closing in January each year. Nominations
received after the closing are automatically considered in the following calendar year. There are well over
500 nominees from more than 47 countries to date. The final selection is made by an international jury
with all deliberation and voting in secret.
The Evolution of the Jury
The first jury assembled in 1979 consisted of J. Carter Brown, then director of the National Gallery
of Art in Washington, D.C.; J. Irwin Miller, then chairman of the executive and finance committee of
Cummins Engine Company; Cesar Pelli, architect and at the time, dean of the Yale University School of
Architecture; Arata Isozaki, architect from Japan; and the late Kenneth Clark (Lord Clark of Saltwood),
noted English author and art historian.
The present jury comprises the already mentioned J. Carter Brown, director emeritus of the National
Gallery of Art, and chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, who serves as chairman; Giovanni
Agnelli, chairman emeritus of Fiat, of Torino, Italy; Ada Louise Huxtable, American author and
architectural critic; Carlos Jimenez, a principal of Carlos Jimenez Studio and professor at the Rice
University School of Architecture in Houston, Texas; Jorge Silvetti, architect and chairman, Department
of Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design; and Lord Rothschild, former chairman
of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and former chairman of the board of trustees of the National
5503-Murcutt6.pmd 10/23/02, 9:14 AM 51
52
Gallery in London. Others who have served as jurors over the years include the late Thomas J. Watson,
Jr., former chairman of IBM; Toshio Nakamura, former editor of A+U in Japan; and architects Philip
Johnson, Kevin Roche, Frank Gehry, all from the United States; and Ricardo Legorreta of Mexico,
Fumihiko Maki of Japan, and Charles Correa of India.
Bill Lacy, architect and president of the State University of New York at Purchase, as well as
advisor to the J. Paul Getty Trust and many other foundations, is executive director of the prize. Previous
secretaries to the jury were the late Brendan Gill, who was architecture critic of The New Yorker magazine;
and the late Carleton Smith. From the prize' s founding until his death in 1986, Arthur Drexler, who was
the director of the department of architecture and design at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City,
was a consultant to the jury.
Television Symposium Marked Tenth Anniversary of the Prize
Architecture has long been considered the mother of all the arts, is how the distinguished
journalist Edwin Newman, serving as moderator, opened the television symposium Architecture and the City:
Friends or Foes? Building and decorating shelter was one of the first expressions of mans creativity, but we
take for granted most of the places in which we work or live, he continued. Architecture has become both
the least and the most conspicuous of art forms.
With a panel that included three architects, a critic, a city planner, a developer, a mayor, a lawyer,
a museum director, an industrialist, an educator, an administrator, the symposium explored problems
facing everyone not just those who live in big cities, but anyone involved in community life. Some of
the questions discussed: what should be built, how much, where, when, what will it look like, what controls
should be allowed, and who should impose them?
For complete details on the symposium which was produced in the tenth anniversary year of the
prize, please go the "pritzkerprize.com" web site, where you can also view the video tape of the
symposium.
Exhibitions and Book on the Pritzker Prize
The Art of Architecture, a circulating exhibition of the work of Laureates of the Pritzker Architecture
Prize, had its world premiere at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago in 1992. The
European debut was in Berlin at the Deutsches Architektur Zentrum in in 1995. It was also shown at the
Karntens Haus der Architektur in Klagenfurt, Austria in 1996, and in 1997, in South America, at the
Architecture Biennale in Sa Paulo, Brazil. In the U.S. it has been shown at the Gallery of Fine Art, Edison
Community College in Ft. Myers, Florida; the Fine Arts Gallery at Texas A&M University; the National
Building Museum in Washington, D.C.; The J. B. Speed Museum in Louisville, Kentucky; the Canton Art
Institute, Ohio; the Indianapolis Museum of Art Columbus Gallery, Indiana; the Washington State
University Museum of Art in Pullman, Washington; the University of Nebraska, and Brigham Young
University in Provo, Utah. It was most recently shown in Poland and immediately before that in Turkey.
Its last U.S. showing was in November of 2000, when it was exhibited in California by the Museum of
Architecture in Costa Mesa. A mini-version of the exhibition was displayed at the White House ceremony
in Washington, D.C. in June of 1998. The latter exhibit has also been shown at the Boston Architectural
Center and Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in the spring of 2001.
Another exhibition titled, The Pritzker Architecture Prize 1979-1999, which was organized by The Art
Institute of Chicago and celebrated the first twenty years of the prize and the works of the laureates, was
shown in Chicago in 1999 and in Toronto at the Royal Ontario Museum in 2000. It provided, through
drawings, original sketches, photographs, plans and models, an opportunity to view some of the most
important architects that have shaped the architecture of this century.
A book with texts by Pritzker jury chairman J. Carter Brown, prize executive director Bill Lacy,
British journalist Colin Amery, and William J. R. Curtis, was produced to accompany the exhibition, and
is still available. Co-published by Abrams of New York and The Art Institute of Chicago, the 206 page
book is edited by co-curator Martha Thorne. It presents an analytical history of the prize along with
examples of buildings by the laureates illustrated in full color. The book celebrates the first twenty years
of the prize and the works of the laureates, providing an opportunity to analyze the significance of the prize
and its evolution.
5503-Murcutt6.pmd 10/23/02, 9:14 AM 52
Architectural photographs and drawings are courtesy of Glenn Murcutt
Unless otherwise noted, all photographs of the ceremony and speakers are by Stefano Micozzi
Edited and published by Jensen & Walker, Inc., Los Angeles, California
For a complete history of the Pritzker Prize
with details of each Laureate, visit the internet at pritzkerprize.com
2002 The Hyatt Foundation