Riken Yamamoto, 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate – Photo courtesy of Tom Welsh.

Architecture – “For me, to recognize space is to recognize an entire community,” says the 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate Riken Yamamoto. The architect and social advocate is known for buildings designed to strengthen community life, often by blurring public and private spaces. Yamamoto is the 53^rd Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the most prestigious architecture award, and the ninth Japanese architect to receive such honour. During his five-decade career, his projects ranged from private residences to public housing, elementary schools to university buildings, institutions to civic spaces, and city planning.

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Hotakubo Housing, photo courtesy of Tomio Ohashi.

“One of the things we need most in the future of cities is to create conditions through architecture that multiply the opportunities for people to come together and interact. By carefully blurring the boundary between public and private, Yamamoto contributes positively beyond the brief to enable community,” explains Alejandro Aravena, Jury Chair and 2016 Pritzker Prize Laureate [Find out more]. “He is a reassuring architect who brings dignity to everyday life. Normality becomes extraordinary. Calmness leads to splendor.”

Shinonome Canal Court CODAN, photo courtesy of Tomio Ohashi.

Born in Beijing, China, in 1945, Yamamoto graduated in architecture at the Nihon University, Tokyo University of the Arts and the University of Tokyo before establishing his studio, Yamamoto & Field Shop Co, in 1973. His projects often include courtyards, outdoor communal spaces and terraces that encourage people to come together.

“The current architectural approach emphasises privacy, negating the necessity of societal relationships.” Says Yamamoto. “However, we can still honour the freedom of each individual while living together in architectural space as a republic, fostering harmony across cultures and phases of life.”

GAZEBO, photo courtesy of Ryuuji Miyamoto.

Among his early projects is the Ishii House, Kawasaki, 1978, built for two artists, which features a pavilion-like room that extends outdoors and serves as a stage to host performances. His own home, GAZEBO (Yokohama, Japan 1986), invokes interaction with neighbours from terraces and rooftops.

Ishii House, photo courtesy of Shinkenchiku Sha.

Larger housing projects also embody relational elements, assuring that even residents who live alone don’t dwell in isolation. For example, the Pangyo Housing in Seongnam, Republic of Korea 2010, is a complex of nine low-rise housing blocks designed with non-prescriptive transparent ground floor volumes catalysing interconnectedness between neighbours.

Pangyo Housing, photo courtesy of Kouichi Satake.

Transparency is a key element of many public and civic buildings. Hi Fire Station in Hiroshima, 2000, is a seven-storey box clad with glass louvres on all sides, allowing the public a direct view of the action taking place inside. The Saitama Prefectural University, 1999, comprises nine buildings connected by terraces that transition into walkways leading to transparent volumes that allow views from one classroom to another.

Hiroshima Nishi Fire Station, photo courtesy of Tomio Ohashi.

“Yamamoto develops a new architectural language that doesn’t merely create spaces for families to live, but creates communities for families to live together,” says Tom Pritzker, Chair of the Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the award. “His works are always connected to society, cultivating a generosity in spirit and honoring the human moment.”

Saitama Prefectural University, photo courtesy of Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop.

All photos are courtesy of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Fussa City Hall, photo courtesy of Sergio Pirrone.