The annual Pritzker Architecture Prize has been awarded to Liu Jiakun of China, who earned the field's highest honor for "affirming architecture that celebrates the lives of ordinary citizens," organizers announced.

Liu, 68, on Tuesday became the 54th laureate of the prize, considered akin to a Nobel in the field of architecture.

In an interview, the architect said he had a simple definition of his profession: "To simplify, the task of architects is to provide a better living environment for human beings...[and make visible the inherent qualities of local people]. First of all, you do something that is functional. But just that itself cannot be called architecture. So you have to provide poetry."

Liu is only the second Chinese citizen to receive the prestigious prize after Wang Shu received the prize 2012.

Liu is known for creating public areas in highly populated cities where there is little public space, "forging a positive relationship between density and open space," a Pritzker statement said.

The architect "upholds the transcendent power of the built environment through the harmonizing of cultural, historical, emotional and social dimensions, using architecture to forge community, inspire compassion and elevate the human spirit," the statement said.

Among his 30 or so projects, which range from academic institutions to commercial buildings to civic spaces, organizers cited in particular his 2015 West Village in Chengdu, which spans a block. The five-story project includes a perimeter of pathways for cyclists and pedestrians around "its own vibrant city of cultural, athletic, recreational, office and business activities within, while allowing the public to view through to the surrounding natural and built environments."

Some of Liu's other significant works include Museum of Clocks, Jianchuan Museum Cluster in Chengdu; No 5 Tea House in Jinhua Architecture & Art Park in Zhejiang; Songyang Cultural Neighborhood in Zhejiang; Eastern Suburb Memory in Sichuan; and Xiangdong Buddha Statue Museum in Shanghai.

Liu was born in 1956 in Chengdu, Sichuan province, and, inspired by the speed of change in China during his early adulthood, established his own practice, Jiakun Architects, in 1999.

Liu said he tries to balance his country's artistic and architectural heritage with the realities of modern technology, and also seeks to balance commercial imperatives with civic concerns.

In 2021, he featured as a speaker in Hong Kong's Business of Design Week - an annual event on design, innovation and brands which includes a design conference, forums, seminars, exhibitions and award presentations.

The Pritzker Architecture Prize was established in 1979. Winners receive a US$100,000 (HK$780,000) grant and a bronze medallion.

Agencies

China's Liu Jiakun wins 'Nobel' prize for architecture