Arts , Humanities & Social Science

Abstract

Elitism in architecture is evident in various aspects: architects are elevated as authorities on built environment quality, recruitment often draws from elite circles, commissions primarily come from elite patrons, and the profession largely caters to the values and aesthetic preferences of privileged groups. Prestigious architecture awards on a global scale reinforce this elitism, thereby producing so-called ‘starchitects’, who, in turn, benefit from this recognition. Among numerous evaluative frameworks, the Pritzker Prize (PP) stands out as one of the most esteemed. It is hypothesized that this prize favors architects whose nationalities are aligned with the ‘West’, over ‘non-Western’ counterparts. In light of substantial critique directed at this historically-based dichotomy as overly simplistic, the culturally-rooted ‘Clash of Civilizations’ theory, which identifies eight key world civilizations, offers an alternative framework for analysis. 

Employing a qualitative research methodology with case studies as its primary strategy, this research utilizes data from the Pritzker Prize's official website (pritzkerprize.com) to identify trends and cycles of PP-winning starchitects across various nationalities worldwide. By tabulating these findings and triangulating data with other extant sources, the study applies the aforementioned theory to analyze these nationalities, situating each within its corresponding geographic regions and thus, key civilization.

Conducted in November 2024, this research analyzes 47 PP award cycles and identifies that starchitects from 21 different nationalities have received the prize over the years. Among these, architects representing Western civilizations have overwhelmingly secured the prize 36 times, followed by Japanese architects with 9 wins, Latin American architects with 4, and a single win each for architects from Sinic, Hindu, and African civilizations. Consequently, the hypothesis is affirmed, demonstrating that the PP exhibits a preferential bias towards the Western civilization.