Spring Break
Paris architect, who designed Minneapolis' Guthrie, wins top award
Mary Abbe - Star Tribune (Minneapolis)Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: MCT News
MINNEAPOLIS _ Star architect and Guthrie Theater designer Jean Nouvel flared into a supernova Sunday, winning his field's highest award, the Pritzker Prize.
The honor, comparable to a Nobel Prize, came in no small part from his work on the blue-clad complex in Minneapolis' mill district, Nouvel's first U.S. project. The six-member jury discussed the Guthrie design "at great length," said juror Victoria Newhouse.
"The building is theater in itself _ exciting, contextual and relates well to the city and to the (Mississippi) river," she said.
Reached by phone at his Paris office, Nouvel declined to rank it or any of his other projects, but said the Guthrie was a "wonderful experience" and a "great adventure."
"I cannot imagine this building in Paris or in New York City," he said. "It would be ridiculous. It is completely linked to the specifics of the program, the situation, the dialogue with existing buildings and the river. And it is for me great memories."
The Guthrie is now the fifth Minneapolis building designed by a Pritzker winner. Others are Philip Johnson's 1974 IDS Tower, Kenzo Tange's 1974 addition to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Frank Gehry's 1993 Weisman Art Museum and Jacques Herzog's and Pierre de Meuron's 2005 addition to Walker Art Center.
Awarded for lifetime achievement, the Pritzker includes a $100,000 cash grant from the Hyatt Foundation established by the Pritzker family of Chicago, which owns the Hyatt hotel chain.
The jury of architectural practitioners, historians and writers cited the French-born Nouvel for a 35-year career distinguished by "persistence, imagination, exuberance and (ASTERISK) creative experimentation."
"We all agreed that he is one of the most daring architects in practice today," said Newhouse, a New York-based architectural historian. "He never takes the safe route; he is always pushing the envelope."
Tom Fisher, dean of the University of Minnesota College of Design, concurred. He sees the Guthrie as the "premier new project of the past several years" in the Twin Cities.
The honor, comparable to a Nobel Prize, came in no small part from his work on the blue-clad complex in Minneapolis' mill district, Nouvel's first U.S. project. The six-member jury discussed the Guthrie design "at great length," said juror Victoria Newhouse.
"The building is theater in itself _ exciting, contextual and relates well to the city and to the (Mississippi) river," she said.
Reached by phone at his Paris office, Nouvel declined to rank it or any of his other projects, but said the Guthrie was a "wonderful experience" and a "great adventure."
"I cannot imagine this building in Paris or in New York City," he said. "It would be ridiculous. It is completely linked to the specifics of the program, the situation, the dialogue with existing buildings and the river. And it is for me great memories."
The Guthrie is now the fifth Minneapolis building designed by a Pritzker winner. Others are Philip Johnson's 1974 IDS Tower, Kenzo Tange's 1974 addition to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Frank Gehry's 1993 Weisman Art Museum and Jacques Herzog's and Pierre de Meuron's 2005 addition to Walker Art Center.
Awarded for lifetime achievement, the Pritzker includes a $100,000 cash grant from the Hyatt Foundation established by the Pritzker family of Chicago, which owns the Hyatt hotel chain.
The jury of architectural practitioners, historians and writers cited the French-born Nouvel for a 35-year career distinguished by "persistence, imagination, exuberance and (ASTERISK) creative experimentation."
"We all agreed that he is one of the most daring architects in practice today," said Newhouse, a New York-based architectural historian. "He never takes the safe route; he is always pushing the envelope."
Tom Fisher, dean of the University of Minnesota College of Design, concurred. He sees the Guthrie as the "premier new project of the past several years" in the Twin Cities.
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