Chinese architect Liu Jiakun was recognized on Tuesday with the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the most prestigious in the field, for "affirming an architecture that celebrates the lives of ordinary citizens," announced the organizers on Tuesday.
Liu, based in Chengdu in the southwestern region of Sichuan, has stated that the purpose of his architecture "is to create a beautiful, just, and dignified living environment," and that he seeks to balance commercial needs with the human needs of the public.
The architect "advocates the transcendent power of the built environment through the harmonization of cultural, historical, emotional, and social dimensions, using architecture to forge community, inspire compassion, and elevate the human spirit," said the Pritzker organizers in a statement.
Liu is known for creating public areas in highly populated cities where there is little public space, "forging a positive relationship between density and open space," the statement noted.
The organizers cited his West Village in Chengdu, a 2015 five-story project spanning a block. It includes a perimeter of paths for cyclists and pedestrians around "its own vibrant city of cultural, athletic, recreational, office, and commercial activities inside, while allowing the public to see through the surrounding natural and built environments."
In an interview on Sunday at his office in Chengdu, Liu said he is not one of those architects who likes to have a easily recognizable visual style. Instead, he commented that he pays more attention to method and strategy.
"Many architects use a strong personal style and form to make a mark in the world," Liu told The Associated Press, speaking in Mandarin. "No matter where they are, people can immediately tell it is their work with very strong symbolism. But I am not that kind of architect."
"I don't want to have a very clear or obvious style that can be recognized as mine at a glance," he stated. "I adopt a more methodological and strategic approach. I hope that when I go to a specific place, I can use my methodology and strategy to adapt to the local conditions. I like to fully understand the place, and then seek resources, problems... and then distill and refine, and finally turn (this) into my work."
Liu also seeks to balance commercial imperatives with civic concerns.
"The rapid development of cities today is basically driven by capital. It is natural for capital to seek profits," he commented. But he added: "You have to leave the public the space it deserves. Only in this way can the development of a city be positive and healthy, instead of being completely high-density, where people live in drawers and boxes... without even a place to go and without space for communication."
Liu is the 54th laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, established in 1979 by the late businessman Jay A. Pritzker and his wife, Cindy. Winners receive a grant of $100,000 and a bronze medal. Some consider it the Nobel Prize of architecture.