Bergdoll and Berke Join Pritzker Jury

John Hill
17. September 2019
Photo: Screenshot of www.pritzkerprize.com/jury

Today's announcement of the two new jury members means two people have left the eight-member jury: British architect Richard Rogers, who won the Pritzker Prize in 2007 and served on the jury from 2015 to 2019; and Ratan N. Tata, chairman of Mumbai's Tata Trusts, who was a juror from 2014 until this year. So for the 2020 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the jury will be:

  • Stephen Breyer (chair), U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Washington, D.C.
  • Barry Bergdoll, Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University, New York
  • Deborah Berke, founder of Deborah Berke Partners, New York, and Dean of the Yale School of Architecture, New Haven, Connecticut
  • André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, architectural critic, curator, and Brazilian Ambassador to India, Delhi
  • Kazuyo Sejima, architect and 2010 Pritzker Laureate, Tokyo
  • Wang Shu, architect, educator, and 2012 Pritzker Laureate, Hangzhou, China
  • Benedetta Tagliabue, architect and director of EMBT Miralles Tagliabue, Barcelona
  • Martha Thorne, Executive Director of the Pritzker Prize, Chicago, and Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design, Madrid

Bergdoll is Professor of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University and a former curator in MoMA's Department of Architecture and Design. According to the announcement, "His proficient knowledge of buildings informs his critical analysis of contemporary architecture." Hinting at where he might steer the jury with his participation, he says in the announcement, "Today the environmental and social challenges that form a key part of every design brief make the awarding of the prize ever more relevant."

Berke is one of three partners at her eponymous practice in New York and Dean of the Yale School of Architecture in New Have, Connecticut. She speaks of the Pritzker as a celebration of "the finest and most humane architecture from around the world," with the role of helping to "educate that public about what architecture can achieve, now and in the future."

Stephen Breyer, chair of the jury, sees potential in the new American jurors: "Together they bring to the jury experience in architectural practice, education, and history. Their presence will help us keep abreast of both historical and contemporary challenges that architecture is facing. Their broad knowledge of the field and their experienced judgment will prove invaluable."

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