The Pritzker Architecture Prize has appointed Deborah Berke and Barry Bergdoll as the newest members of the prize jury. Replacing Richard Rogers and Ratan N. Tata, the new appointments of Berke and Bergdoll mark the upcoming 2020 edition of the Pritzker Prize and the 42nd anniversary of the accolade. The Pritzker Prize is internationally known as architecture's highest honor.
"The jury is pleased indeed to add two new members, Deborah Berke and Barry Bergdoll,” comments Stephen Breyer, Chair of the Pritzker Prize Jury. “Together they bring to the jury experience in architectural practice, education, and history. Their presence will help us keep abreast of both historical and contemporary challenges that architecture is facing. Their broad knowledge of the field and their experienced judgment will prove invaluable.”
Deborah Berke is a practicing international architect, educator and Dean of the Yale School of Architecture. She is the recipient of a 2019 Medal of Honor from the AIA New York Chapter and the 2017 Sackler Center First Award, was the inaugural recipient of the 2012 Berkeley-Rupp Prize at the University of California at Berkley, and the recipient of a National Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. “I am honored to serve on the jury as we celebrate the finest and most humane architecture from around the world. I believe the Prize can also help educate that public about what architecture can achieve, now and in the future,” remarks Ms. Berke.
Barry Bergdoll is a Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University and former curator of the Department of Architecture and Design at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. "It is an enormous honor to be joining the Pritzker Prize Jury at this key moment in architectural practice and culture,” states Mr. Bergdoll. “The Prize has established itself long ago as a leading recognition of architectural invention and excellence, as well as a means of amplifying the importance of architectural work that enhances the quality of places around the world and the lives of those who use and interact with designed spaces. It has shown itself to be in tune with what matters in architectural work and honored those who practice architectural design with commitment and integrity at the highest level. Today the environmental and social challenges that form a key part of every design brief make the awarding of the prize ever more relevant.”
Mr. Bergdoll and Ms. Berke join Jury Chair Stephen Breyer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice; and distinguished members including André Corrêa do Lago, architectural critic, curator, and Brazilian Ambassador to India, Delhi, India; Kazuyo Sejima, architect, educator and 2010 Pritzker Laureate, Tokyo, Japan; Benedetta Tagliabue, architect and director of EMBT Miralles Tagliabue, Barcelona, Spain; and Wang Shu, architect, educator, and 2012 Pritzker Laureate, Hangzhou, China. Martha Thorne, Executive Director of the Pritzker Prize and also Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design manages the open nominations process, which accepts suggestions from architects from all over the world.
The 2019 Pritzker Prize was most recently awarded to Arata Isozaki of Japan, and the 2020 Laureate will be announced next spring.
