Arata Isozaki, a Japanese architect, city planner, and theorist, has been named the 2019 winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Founded in 1979 by Jay and Cindy Pritzker and funded by the Hyatt Foundation, the $100,000 prize honors a living architect or architects whose work demonstrates a combination of talent, vision, and commitment to humanity and the built environment. Isozaki's early successes came in the years following the Allied occupation of Japan, and in the decades since he has been credited with facilitating dialogue between East and West, reinterpreting global influences within the field, and supporting the development of younger architects. 

Isozaki's forward-thinking approach, deep commitment to the "art of space," and transnational methodology have been on display since the 1960s. His buildings appear geometrically simple but are infused with theory and purpose and embody the connection between global universality and local identity. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1981-86) was Isozaki's first international commission; others include the Palau Sant Jordi (1983-90) in Barcelona, which was designed for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games; the Pala Alpitour (2002-06) in Torino, Italy; the Himalayas Center (2003-13) in Shanghai; the Allianz Tower (2003-14) in Milan; the Qatar National Convention Center (2004-11) in Doha; and the Shanghai Symphony Hall (2008-14).

"Possessing a profound knowledge of architectural history and theory, and embracing the avant-garde, he never merely replicated the status quo, but his search for meaningful architecture was reflected in his buildings that to this day, defy stylistic categorizations, are constantly evolving, and always fresh in their approach," the Pritzker Jury Citation states.

"I wanted to see the world through my own eyes, so I traveled around the globe at least ten times before I turned thirty," said Isozaki. "I wanted to feel the life of people in different places and visited extensively inside Japan, but also to the Islamic world, villages in the deep mountains of China, South East Asia, and metropolitan cities in the U.S. I was trying to find any opportunities to do so, and through this, I kept questioning, 'what is architecture?'"