Beijing to host next year's Pritzker Architecture Prize

Every important and influential architecture studio wants a piece of the building boom taking place in China right now and many of them have already made their mark. Zaha Hadid, Paul Andreu, Amateur Architecture Studio and TM Studios are just a few of the big names on an impressive list of architects that have completed large-scale projects in the country in recent years. 

With this in mind, it seems fitting that architecture’s answer to the Nobel Prize, the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, will be held in Beijing next year.

Since it was founded by Jay A. Pritzker and his wife Cindy in 1979 to recognise the talent and vision of a living architect, winners of the annual prize have hailed from 16 different nations and have included the likes of Ieoh Ming Pei in 1983 (China), Frank Gehry in 1989 (Canada), Zaha Hadid (the first woman to win the prize) in 2004, Richard Rogers in 2007 (Britain) and Jean Nouvel in 2008 (France). Winners get $100,000, a citation certificate and, since 1987, a bronze medal. Pre-1987 winners got a limited edition Henry Moore sculpture instead of the medal. The prize is voted on by Laureates, academics and critics.

Beijing currently boasts several buildings by previous winners of the Pritzker Prize including Norman Foster’s Beijing International Airport (2008), Rem Koolhaas’ CCTV Tower (2008) and Herzog & de Meuron’s National Stadium (2007). These are not only the city’s most jaw-dropping builds, but examples of some of this century’s most ground-breaking architectural design.

We took a look through the Phaidon Atlas of 21st Century Architecture to remind ourselves of some of the amazing architectural projects that have taken place in Beijing in recent years, and have put a selection of the most impressive buildings in the city into a gallery (above). By flicking through the images you get an idea of the scale and grandeur or the architectural design taking place in this rapidly changing metropolis.

And we’re taking this opportunity to give away 3 copies of the Phaidon Atlas of 21st Century Architecture Travel Edition. Enter here for your chance to win a copy.