Pritzker Prize goes to Japanese architect who values community in spaces both public and private

By JOCELYN NOVECK
AP National Writer

Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto is the 2024 winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the highest honor in the field. Yamamoto, 78, has spent a five-decade career designing both private and public buildings — from residences to museums to schools, from a bustling airport center to a glass-walled fire station — and prizing a spirit of community in all spaces. Organizers cited his longtime focus on “multiplying opportunities for people to meet spontaneously.” Examples of his work include a glass-walled fire station in Hiroshima where the public can see inside to firefighters training with ropes and ladders, an airport retail center in Zurich, and a housing project with private homes lining a central plaza to encourage social connections.