Paulo Mendes da Rocha Wins Praemium Imperiale

The ninety-year-old architect is one of five laureates named by the Japan Art Association for 2016:
 

• Architecture: Paulo Mendes da Rocha
• Music: Gidon Kremer
• Painting: Cindy Sherman
• Sculpture: Annette Messager
• Theatre/ Film: Martin Scorsese

The Japan Art Association asserts that most of da Rocha's work has been carried out in Brazil, where his "projects ... have helped define São Paulo’s character as a city." Notable projects mentioned in the prize statement include his renovation of the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture, and the Patriarch Plaza redevelopment project, with its iconic Portico. The last piece – as much a feat of engineering as architecture – recalls da Rocha's upbringing: his father was an engineer whose projects included constructions in harbors, over rivers and canals.

The architect described his approach to the Japan Art Association as such:

An architect doesn’t design for himself. He designs for society. So it’s society that is in charge. And these desires are very complex, and are necessarily addressed by us in a total complexity and all at the same time. ... I think the charm of architecture is that there aren’t any pre-established rules. It is subject to the human imagination. You must be very free in order to be an architect.

I see that it’s not a prize for me, as a person, but it’s a sort of commemoration of our friendship, the people of Japan and the people of Brazil.

Da Rocha is also the recipient of the 2106 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the 2006 Pritzker Architecture Prize, and the Mies van der Rohe Prize for Latin American Architecture in 2000. He is the 28th recipient of the Praemium Imperiale in the Architecture category, coming on the heels of Dominique Perrault (2015), Steven Holl (2014), and David Chipperfield (2013).

Created in 1988, "The Praemium Imperiale honors the greatest artists of our time," according to Hisashi Hieda, chairman of the Japan Art Association. "Their glorious creations remind us that art is a universal language, bridging geographic boundaries and enhancing all our lives." Paulo Mendes da Rocha's award comes with 15 million yen (approximately $143,000USD), a specially-designed gold medal, and a testimonial letter. He and the other laureates will receive their medals at a ceremony in Tokyo on 18 October 2016.