Originating in 1979, the Pritzker Architecture Prize is one of the top honors an architect can receive. Sometimes referred to as “architecture’s Nobel,” the award is given annually to a living architect “whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture” (http://www.pritzkerprize.com/). Winners are announced in the spring and deliberations are well underway to determine 2011’s honoree.

The 2010 winners, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, partners in the architectural firm, SANAA have been creating incredible work from their Toyko-based office since 1995.

Rolex Learning Center in Lausanne, Switzerland

Toledo Museum of Art’s Glass Pavilion in Toledo, Ohio. Photo Courtesy Toledo Museum of Art

New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, NY.

Serpentine Pavilion in London. Photo by Iwan Baan

Christian Dior Building in Omotesando in Tokyo

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa

For more information about the 2010 winners, past laureates and how to make nominations, visit The Pritzker Architecture Prize website.