The ceremony took place on November 3, during the visit of the Prince of Wales and his wife to the United States. The award, among which the Aga Khan, Robert Venturi and Denis Scott-Brown are among the laureates, is intended to celebrate achievements in creativity, scientific research, art criticism in the field of architecture.
The jury named the Prince's Merit Award - his advocacy for sustainable urban growth, traditional urban planning practices, and his efforts to raise public awareness of this entire area of culture.
Prince Charles founded the Foundation for the Architectural Environment of his name, which promotes the creation of residential areas and villages, designs which meet the requirements of environmentalists, and also embody the Prince's vision of the human scale in urban planning. More than 20 similar objects have been built or are under construction now.
The Restoration Trust, also an organization he created, deals with the protection of monuments and the preservation of the architectural heritage, and the School of Traditional Arts teaches artistic crafts such as the manufacture of stained glass windows, mosaics, tiles, icon painting, etc.
In connection with the presentation of the prize, an exhibition of products by students of this educational institution will be held in the Museum of Construction. Also there was opened an exposition prepared by the Prince's Foundation, which is dedicated to 17 of the most progressive, from his point of view, implemented urban development projects from around the world.
Receiving the award from Professor Scully, Prince Charles said that his position among architects and critics is somewhat ambiguous, and being an architectural award winner is a new experience for him.
Such a reservation is caused by the fact that, due to his conservative views, he often opposes the projects of modern architects, which causes not only discontent of many, but even accusations of reactionaryism.
