Francis Kéré Among Arts and Letters Recipients

The Academy has given awards to architects annually since 1955, the inaugural year of the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize, which is given to a "a preeminent architect from any country who has made a significant contribution to architecture as an art." In 1991, the Academy added awards to honor American architects "whose work is characterized by a strong personal direction." The Academy created another cateogry in 2003 to honor Americans "from any field who has contributed to ideas in architecture through any medium of expression."

The 2017 Architecture Award Winners:

Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize ($20,000 to an architect of any nationality who has made a significant contribution to architecture as an art)
Diébédo Francis Kéré, Kéré Architecture, Berlin

Arts and Letters Awards in Architecture ($10,000 to an American architect whose work is characterized by a strong personal direction):
Walter Hood, Hood Design Studio, Oakland, California
John Ronan, John Ronan Architects, Chicago

Arts and Letters Awards in Architecture ($10,000 to an American who explores ideas in architecture through any medium of expression):
Theaster Gates, Rebuild Foundation, Chicago
Paul Goldberger, architecture critic, New York

The jury for the 2017 awards was made up of Elizabeth Diller (chairman), Henry N. Cobb, Peter Eisenman, Kenneth Frampton, Hugh Hardy, Steven Holl,  Thom Mayne, James Polshek, Robert A. M. Stern,  Billie Tsien, and Tod Williams.