Australian architect Glenn Murcutt, who magically combines Miesian Modernism with Aussie austerity and environmental sensitivity, has been selected to receive the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize. The 66-year-old architect, the first Australian to win the prize, is a sole practitioner in Sydney.

"Glenn Murcutt is a stark contrast to most of the highly visible architects of the day," noted the six-member Pritzker jury in its statement. Jury chair J. Carter Brown further commented, "Glenn Murcutt occupies a unique place in today's architectural firmament. In an age obsessed with celebrity, the glitz of our 'starchitects,' backed by large staffs and copious public relations support, dominate the headlines. As a total contrast, our laureate works in a one-person office on the other side of the world from much of the architectural attention, yet has a waiting list of clients, so intent is he to give each project his personal best. He is an innovative architectural technician who is capable of turning his sensitivity to the environment and to locality into forthright, totally honest, non-showy works of art. Bravo!"

Mies, indigenously
Murcutt, in contrast to previous winners of the Pritzker Prize, eschews most large projects for the design of private houses in Australia. He is widely recognized in his own country for his environmentally sensitive work and raising environmental consciousness nationwide.

"Murcutt deploys steel or concrete structure with Miesian precision, and yet the final result looks definitively as if it had been born in Australia. Characteristically, his buildings are long and low, with angled or curved rooflines and expansive views of the countryside," Washington Post architecture critic Benjamin Forgey wrote in his April 15 news story. "The architect frequently uses ordinary materials, such as corrugated metal, to extraordinary effect, and he often designs exquisite horizontal sunscreens to control light and wind. Prized for their energy efficiency, Murcutt buildings rarely need air conditioning even in summer."

Distinguished honor
Murcutt received his architecture degree in 1961 from the University of New South Wales Technical College and opened his own office in 1969. He has been a guest lecturer at Yale; University of Pennsylvania; and Texas, Arizona, Kansas, and Hawaii state universities.

The Pritzker Prize, established in 1979, honors living architects for consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture. The award was set up by the Pritzker family of Chicago and is administered by the family's Hyatt Foundation. Past recipients have included Philip Johnson, FAIA; Luis Barragán, Hon. FAIA; Kevin Roche, FAIA; I.M. Pei, FAIA; Richard Meier, FAIA; Tadao Ando, Hon. FAIA; Frank Gehry, FAIA; and Sir Norman Foster, Hon. FAIA. This year's jury members are:

• Chair J. Carter Brown, director emeritus of the National Gallery of Art and U.S. Commission of Fine Arts chair
• Giovanni Agnelli, chair emeritus, Fiat
• Ada Louise Huxtable, Hon. AIA, author and architectural critic
• Carlos Jimenez, Rice University School of Architecture professor, and
principal, Carlos Jimenez Studio
• Jorge Silvetti, Harvard University Graduate School of Design department of architecture chair
• The Lord Rothschild, former chair of the National Gallery Board of Trustees and the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

Bill Lacy, State University of New York at Purchase, served as executive director. He will cochair the presentation ceremony of $100,000 and a bronze medal with Adele Chatfield-Taylor, president of the American Academy in Rome, on May 29
at Michelangelo's Campidoglio in Rome.

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.