The jury for the Pritzker Architecture Prize, one of the highest honors in the world of architecture, has named British architect David Chipperfield (officially Sir David Alan Chipperfield CH) as the 2023 winner. Known primarily for his cultural projects including the Museo Jumex in Mexico City, the restoration and reconstruction of the Neues Museum in Berlin and the expansion of the Saint Louis Art Museum in Missouri, the 69-year-old expert has been hailed for his minimalist designs that blend the historic with the contemporary and aim to revitalize cities. He joins past award winners Zaha Hadid (2004), Eduardo Souto de Moura (2011), Shigeru Ban (2014), Balkrishna Doshi (2018) and Diébédo Francis Kéré (2022).
David Chipperfield, who has completed more than 100 projects from Asia to Europe to North America, recently completed the restoration and transformation of the Procuratie Vecchie in St. Mark's Square in Venice, finally opening to the public a new access to the city's cultural heritage. Venice, finally providing public access to three major buildings (which previously housed the financial administration of St. Mark's Basilica). The architect used traditional artisans to restore the old decorations and created event spaces, exhibition halls and rooftop terraces that brought the historic structures to life by making them accessible to the public. In 2021, the architect renovated Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's 1968 Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin with surgical precision. During his four-decade career, he has also designed stores, single-family homes and office buildings whose architecture always juggles grandeur and sustainability.