Tod Williams and Billie Tsien picked for world’s richest architecture prize
Architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien have joined the ranks of Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Zaha Hadid, James Stirling and David Chipperfield as recipients of the Praemium Imperiale award for architecture from the Japan Art Association.
这对总部位于纽约的组合已经合作了42年，并于1986年成立了自己的事务所。
In 2016, they were selected by then-President Barack Obama to design the Obama Presidential Centre in Chicago –beating David Adjaye in the process. Their building is scheduled for completion in 2022.
Williams and Tsien’s Praemium Imperiale citation commends the duo’s core belief that architecture is an act of “profound optimism” and a service that can reflect the values of public institutions that share such a view.
“这对夫妇和他们的工作室设计的建筑无缝地融入了周围的环境，有强有力的证据表明它们是由双手制成的，并优先考虑生活在其中的体验，”它观察到。
“由此产生的空间充满了温暖、熟悉和宁静。在他们30年的职业生涯中，他们负责了许多国内外的项目，包括香港和印度等国家。”
Williams and Tsien’s body of work includes their 1995 Neurosciences Institute at La Jolla in California and 2012 Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.
The Praemium Imperale Awards have been given annually since 1989 and cover painting, sculpture, music and theatre/film – as well as architecture. The categories are designed to cover fields of achievement not covered by the Nobel Prizes.
The awards are given by Japan’s imperial family in memory of Prince Takamatsu, younger brother of Emperor Showa – better known in the west as Hirohito, who reigned from 1926 to 1989.
IM Pei was the winner of the inaugural Praemium Imperiale for architecture. Other winners have included Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano, Steven Holl, Rem Koolhaas and Gae Aulenti.
Laureates currently receive an honorarium of 15 million yen, approximately £110,000, making it the world’s richest architecture prize.
British Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum, German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, South African visual artist William Kentridge and Japanese kabuki actor Bando Tamasaburo are this year’s other recipients.
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