Awards in Architecture

written by Frano Petar Zovko

 

The October issue of Oris magazine, dedicated to the Days of Oris symposium and therefore edited on the basis of authorship and not a particular theme, has always been rather heterogeneous. Yet, if we had to isolate a recurring motif, it would probably be – the award in architecture. Nearly all the authors presented in the pages in front of you hold a large number of awards in their portfolios – due to both excellence of their work and growing number of circulating awards – and this year’s laureates of the most prestigious, Pritzker Prize, particularly stand out. But, despite the fact that architectural awards are a frequent topic not only in the professional, but also in a broader public discourse, an analytical step backwards, that is discussing the possibilities and limitations of the architectural award as a social and economic tool in the neoliberal era, has seldom been undertaken.