Junya Ishigami Becomes First Recipient of the International Architecture Award "The Barragán Prize" Established by Bottega Veneta
Junya Ishigami has been named the first recipient of The Barragán Prize, an international architecture award established by Bottega Veneta and La Cuadra.Summary
Architect Junya Ishigami has been selected as the first recipient of The Barragán Prize, an international architecture award jointly established by Bottega Veneta and the Mexican cultural institution La Cuadra. The prize is an annual international architecture award named after Luis Barragán, the only Mexican architect to have won the Pritzker Prize, and aims to honor individuals who break free from conventional ideas, expand the possibilities of architecture, and bring new forms to people's lives and their relationship with the world.
Ishigami completed his master's degree at Tokyo University of the Arts and worked at Kazuyo Sejima & Associates before founding Junya Ishigami + Associates in 2004. His major works include "Kanagawa Institute of Technology KAIT Workshop/KAIT Plaza," "Water Garden," "Serpentine Pavilion 2019," "House & Restaurant," and "Zuisho Museum." He has explored the relationship between architecture and nature, landscape, and human experience, creating spaces that question the existing framework of architecture. He received the Golden Lion at the 12th Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition in 2010, the Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists in the Fine Arts Division from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2019, and the Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts in 2024. He was selected as an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 2025 and will receive the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in 2026, among other internationally high accolades.
The first award ceremony was held on October 9 at "La Cuadra," a building Barragán designed in the late 1960s. The facility, once a private residence and stable, is considered one of the representative works of 20th-century Mexican architecture. Alongside the ceremony, Bottega Veneta and its Creative Director Louise Trotter co-hosted a commemorative lunch with Mexican-born architect Fernando Romero. Guests included performance artist Marina Abramović, artist Pedro Reyes, architects Benedetta Tagliabue and Jürgen Mayer H., and Japan's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Mexico, Kozo Motokiyo, who gathered to celebrate Ishigami's award. Bottega Veneta has a long-standing engagement with architecture, art, and design. The establishment of this prize reflects the brand's philosophy that creative thinking opens up new possibilities. As an international award that inherits Barragán's architectural legacy while exploring new possibilities for contemporary architecture, future developments are eagerly anticipated.
(Source：美術手帖)