Chilean Architect Smiljan Radić Wins 2024 Pritzker Prize

Chilean architect Smiljan Radić, 60, has been named the 2024 laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the prize foundation announced on the 12th. The award is considered the architecture world’s most prestigious honor, often described as the field’s equivalent of a Nobel Prize. Radić will receive a $100,000 prize and a medal.

Radić has drawn international attention through projects that blend sculptural form with the surrounding environment. Notable works include the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London in 2014 and the Teatro Regional del Biobío in Concepción, Chile, completed in 2018. He is the second Chilean to win the prize, following Alejandro Aravena, who won in 2016.

The Pritzker jury described Radić’s architecture as prioritizing materiality, texture, and spatial experience over mere form. His work is noted for bringing the topics of light and time into architectural space, while exploring the evolving relationship between humans and their environment.

In accepting the award, Radić said architecture is a positive act that can change how people see their surroundings, adding that in difficult times architecture can have the power to rebuild reality.

For audiences outside Korea, the prize shines a spotlight on Chilean and Latin American architecture, signaling growing global recognition for regional design languages that emphasize texture, materiality, and site-specific context. In practical terms, the award can boost opportunities for cross-border collaboration, research, and exhibitions involving U.S. firms, universities, and cultural institutions.

The recognition also matters for the broader global design economy. U.S. developers and clients seeking innovative, environmentally attuned designs may look to Radić’s approach as a reference point, potentially influencing projects, procurement, and partnership opportunities across continents while reinforcing Latin America’s growing role in contemporary architecture.