It's now 20 years since a solo woman won the Pritzker Architecture Prize. The profession's most prestigious award must do better, writes Tom Ravenscroft.
It is 20 years since Zaha Hadid won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, yet somehow she remains the only solo woman to have won the accolade.
Just days before International Women's Day today, the Pritzker jury again named a man – this time Riken Yamamoto – as this year's laureate. It is the third year in a row that a solo man has been given the award. For Pritzker, this is very much business as usual.
Since Hadid's victory two decades ago, the prize has been awarded to individual men on 16 occasions. All of the women that have been awarded the honour, aside from Hadid, have been in partnerships – nearly always with men. Are there really no more women deserving of architecture's highest prize?
      'Yamamoto takes the tally of Japanese male winners to eight'
After a brief dabble in recognising the work of women architects – Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara winning in 2020 and Lacaton & Vassal in 2021 – it looks like the Pritzker Prize has now reverted to form, again presenting the award to a very established Japanese architect. Yamamoto takes the tally of Japanese male winners to eight, pulling two clear of the total number of female winners in the global award's 45-year history.
The Pritzker jury's ongoing recognition of male architects from the Global North is either a damning reflection of the state of architecture or a damning reflection of Pritzker's view of what is significant architecture.
The prize is awarded each year to a living architect who has "produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture". For its first 25 years, the prize recognised the leading, best-known, international starchitects – all of whom, of course, were men. The majority were from traditional, western architectural strongholds – the USA, UK, France, Germany and Italy, and so on.
However, in recent years, its emphasis has changed, recognising a broader range of people contributing to the profession: RCR Arquitectes's small-scale work, Alejandro Aravena's community-driven practice and numerous partnerships celebrating collaboration – Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, Farrell and McNamara, and Lacaton & Vassal.
The RIBA Royal Gold Medal is proving that gender balance and correction for historic neglect is possible
And, of course, diversity is not solely about gender – Diébédo Francis Kéré's victory was almost universally welcomed when he became the first African architect to win in 2022. Yamamoto's work, and its clear community-focus, also makes him a very worthy winner.
However, it seems there is still no room for solo women winners.
In the UK, the RIBA Royal Gold Medal is proving that gender balance and correction for historic neglect is possible for a lifetime achievement-style award, even for the most traditional of institutions. Over the past decade, its leading award has been presented to six women – Sheila O'Donnell, Hadid, McNamara, Farrell, Yasmeen Lari and Lesley Lokko, and six men – John Tuomey, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Neave Brown, Nicholas Grimshaw, David Adjaye, Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi.
It is possible!
The male domination of the Pritzker Prize seems almost wilful
Some may argue that for a lifetime achievement award it is impossible not to recognise those who have had long and extremely successful, undeniably influential careers – David Chipperfield for example.
It's no secret that the top jobs in architecture are dominated by men, so you might suggest that the Pritzker laureates merely reflect that reality.
However, the male domination of the Pritzker Prize seems almost wilful. Yamamoto is hardly a household name; the world could have handled waiting a couple of years to give him the award.
Meanwhile, there are so many women who have had long and influential careers in the traditional mode that Pritzker often celebrates. Consider, for example, Francine Houbine, who has been leading one of the world's largest studios, Mecanoo, for over 20 years; Jeanne Gang, founder of US powerhouse Studio Gang; or Danish architect Dorte Mandrup. If they are looking beyond the heads of major studios, then Lari, Frida Escobedo or Marina Tabassum are all worthy considerations still to get a look in.
Now it appears that these wins were merely a blip in prize's history
The campaign in 2013 to recognise Denise Scott Brown's omission from the prize when Robert Venturi won should have served as a wake-up call to the Pritzker Prize. Like in 2013, the Pritzker organisation may say that the winner is the choice of an independent jury, therefore out of their control, so this may be a simple place to start. This year's jury was made up of five men and two women – a rebalance is completely within the organisation's influence.
With Farrell and McNamara, Lacaton & Vassal and Kéré's victories it felt like change was in the air, with the prize broadening the spectrum of who is considered significant. However, it now appears that these wins were merely a blip in prize's history, much like Hadid's win 20 years ago.
The architecture profession is slowly changing, and for a while it seemed the Pritzker recognised that and was part of the change. Representation is important, and it is essential that the world's most prestigious architecture prize remembers to celebrate greater diversity in the industry.
Tom Ravenscroft is the editor of Dezeen.
The photo is courtesy of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Dezeen In Depth
If you enjoy reading Dezeen's interviews, opinions and features, subscribe to Dezeen In Depth. Sent on the last Friday of each month, this newsletter provides a single place to read about the design and architecture stories behind the headlines.