Liu Jiakun Wins Pritzker Architecture Prize 2025, the “Nobel of Architecture”

The Pritzker Prize 2025, the highest honor in architecture, has announced Liu Jiakun as this year's winner. The Chinese architect won over the jury for his work that successfully blends traditional Chinese elements with contemporary design and for his commitment to social equality in the built environment. He becomes the second Chinese architect to receive this prestigious award after Wang Shu (2012). The award ceremony will be held this spring at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by Jean Nouvel. 

Liu Jiakun has completed more than 30 projects in China, based on its concept of reality and respect for the Country's multi-traditional history. Liu wanted to create an unlimited public space with modern aesthetic requirements. His design adapts to the natural landscape, the existing urban framework, and, of course, the needs of the citizens. 

Department of Sculpture, Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (Courtesy of Arch-Exist)

Liu Jiakun was born in 1956 and showed his talent in art and literature at an early age. Coinciding with the post-Mao period, Liu secured his place at the Chongqing Institute of Architecture and Engineering in 1978 and received his bachelor's degree from the Architectural Engineering program in 1982. Liu began his career by contributing to the rebuilding of post-revolutionary China. 

This period also had a significant influence on the field of architecture in China. Foreign literature entered the country more easily, making it more accessible to students and academics. Even so, in the fast-paced atmosphere of 1980s China, Liu still felt that architecture was “left behind,” and it made him want to leave the world of architecture. But after attending a solo exhibition of his classmate Tang Hua, he found inspiration again that architecture could be a medium of personal expression, releasing him from the shadow of his government. Liu refined his philosophy and founded Jiakun Architects (1999), becoming China's first private architecture firm. 

West Village photo courtesy of Arch-Exist

West Village (Courtesy of Qian Shen Photography)

West Village (Courtesy of Chen Chen)

“I have always aspired to be like water-penetrating a place without bringing my own fixed form and permeating into the local environment and the place itself. As time passes, water gradually solidifies, transforms into architecture, and may even become the highest form of human spiritual creation. However, the water still retains all the qualities of the place, both good and bad.” says Liu Jiakun.

Through his projects, Liu Jiakun shows that human behavior can be influenced by the space in which it grows. He contributes greatly to the construction and restoration of public spaces in densely populated neighborhoods, which is expected to be a solution for these neighborhoods while still presenting historical value in new buildings.

 Museum of Clocks Jianchuan (Courtesy of Arch-Exist)

Liu Jiakun often avoids smooth surface finishes, emphasizing textures and imperfections to give a building uniqueness. To this end, he utilizes recycled materials, such as debris from the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, which he turns into resilient bricks for projects such as the Novartis Building and Xicun Complex. This approach reflects his ethos of “building for the people, building by the people.”

Rebirth Brick (Courtesy of Jiakun Architects)

“Cities tend to separate functions, but Liu Jiakun takes the opposite approach and maintains an intricate balance to integrate all dimensions of city life. In a world that tends to create boring peripheries, he has found a way to build places that are buildings, infrastructure, landscapes, and public spaces at the same time. His work can offer impactful guidance on how to deal with the challenges of urbanization in an era of rapidly evolving cities.”  Chairman of the Jury and 2016 Pritzker Prize Winner Alejandro Aravena