Liu Jiakun has been awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in a ceremony at Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Monday's event was the first time the UAE capital had hosted the ceremony for the prestigious accolade, which is intended to honour a living architect whose work shows “talent, vision and commitment”, according to the Pritzker Prize's website. The event was attended by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
Liu is difficult to box into a specific aesthetic, however, the Chinese architect is driven by a clear and steadfast ethos. He is renowned for spurning style in favour of social requirements, and his designs are informed by the purpose of the site and the materials that are readily available. For Liu, architecture should not be applied. Rather, it should be cultivated organically from the local context. Perhaps it is for this reason that several of his designs were constructed in the city he knows best – his hometown of Chengdu, capital of the Sichuan province.
“Architecture should reveal something,” he said in a statement shared by the Pritzker Prize. “It should abstract, distil and make visible the inherent qualities of local people. It has the power to shape human behaviour and create atmospheres, offering a sense of serenity and poetry, evoking compassion and mercy, and cultivating a sense of shared community.”
Liu's works include the Luyeyuan Stone Sculpture Art Museum, which incorporates elements from a traditional Chinese garden. This ability to smoothly blend architecture within natural topography can also be seen in his renovation of the Tianbao Cave District.
He is also known for his work following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, in which he repurposed rubble as materials for new projects. He used this “rebirth brick” approach in his designs for the Novartis Shanghai Campus, Xicun Compound and Shuijingfang Museum. The most famous and poignant example of the technique is his Hu Huishan Memorial, a structure named in honour of a 15-year-old girl who died in the earthquake.
“Through an outstanding body of work of deep coherence and constant quality, Liu Jiakun imagines and constructs new worlds, free from any aesthetic or stylistic constraint,” the 2025 jury for the Pritzker Prize, chaired by Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, said in a statement.
“Instead of a style, he has developed a strategy that never relies on a recurring method but rather on evaluating the specific characteristics and requirements of each project differently. That is to say, Liu Jiakun takes present realities and handles them to the point of offering sometimes a whole new scenario of daily life. Beyond knowledge and techniques, common sense and wisdom are the most powerful tools he adds to the designer’s toolbox.”
Liu shared insights into his practice during a discussion at the Cultural Foundation Abu Dhabi on Saturday, May 3. He was joined by other Pritzker laureates including the Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto and the British architect David Chipperfield. The three discussed the potential for architecture to honour culture while simultaneously bolstering communities.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
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- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Roger Federer's record at Wimbledon
Roger Federer's record at Wimbledon
1999 - 1st round
2000 - 1st round
2001 - Quarter-finalist
2002 - 1st round
2003 - Winner
2004 - Winner
2005 - Winner
2006 - Winner
2007 - Winner
2008 - Finalist
2009 - Winner
2010 - Quarter-finalist
2011 - Quarter-finalist
2012 - Winner
2013 - 2nd round
2014 - Finalist
2015 - Finalist
2016 - Semi-finalist
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- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
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- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
