The 2024 Pritzker Prize, widely regarded as architecture¡¯s Nobel, has again been awarded to a Japanese architect.

In an announcement from Chicago on March 5, Yokohama-based architect Riken Yamamoto was named the recipient of this year¡¯s award, which is dedicated to ¡°a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.¡±

This makes Yamamoto, 78, the ninth Japanese person to be awarded the prestigious honor. No country has produced more laureates than Japan in the prize¡¯s 45-year history, an indication of the high regard that its architects and architecture are held in globally.