DESIGNING TO SERVE

Others’ opinions of his works are unimportant. What LIU JIAKUN, winner of the 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize, cares about is how its inhabitants get the most out of them.

- Words: LEE LI WEN (Translation: ZHUAN LEE)

Some buildings are more than dwellings – they are responses to their era and quiet meditations on culture.

This March, the world’s gaze turned to southwest China as architect Liu Jiakun received the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, widely regarded as the Nobel Prize of the architectural world. It marks only the second time a Chinese national has earned the honour, following Wang Shu’s win in 2012.

Liu is not a regular fixture in international headlines; nor is he someone who seeks the spotlight with high-profile projects. Yet in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, he has spent decades developing an architectural language entirely his own: one characterised by resilience and warmth.

Alejandro Aravena, 2016 Pritzker laureate and chair of this year's jury, lauded Liu’s vision: “In a world drifting toward endless, monotonous peripheries, he has charted a new course for architecture.”

THE ENERGY OF IMPERFECTION

At a time when global architecture is growing increasingly homogenised and the outskirts of cities have lapsed into monotony, Liu stands out for creating inclusive public spaces that harmoniously blend high-density environments with open spaces.