By winning the Pritzker Prize, Balkrishna Doshi, a pioneer of low-cost housing design, became the first Indian to have received the award—considered as architecture’s Nobel equivalent
The Hyatt Foundation’s Pritzker
It was established by the Pritzker family of Chicago through their Hyatt Foundation in 1979, according to their website. The Pritzker family is synonymous with Hyatt Hotels located throughout the world. The laureate receives $1,00,000, a formal citation certificate and a bronze medallion since 1987. Prior to that year, the winners received a limited-edition sculpture by Henry Moore (a renowned British sculptor)
The words of an ancient Roman architect
The bronze medallion is based on the designs of Chicago architect Louis Sullivan who is known as the father of the skyscraper. On one side, the name of the prize is inscribed. On the other side are the words “firmness, commodity and delight”. It was inspired by firmitas, utilitas, venustas: the words of Roman architect Vitruvius who lived in 1 BC
An architecturally significant venue for the award
The ceremony in which the award is granted takes place every year, usually in May, at an architecturally significant site somewhere in the world. The location is usually chosen each year before the laureate is selected, the website adds. This year, the award ceremony will be held at Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum which was designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, a Pritzker prize winner himself