This is the fourth time that a representative of Japan has been awarded: in 30 years of existence, the award has been recognized by Kenzo Tange, Fumihiko Maki and Tadao Ando.
The jury noted the "apparent simplicity" of the SANAA buildings, transforming each of them into a single piece of architecture. At the same time, its materiality recedes into the background, emphasizing the people, objects, landscape interacting with it. The themes of Sejima and Nishizawa's work are lightness, transparency and unlimited, "lasting" space.
At the same time, the economy of expressive means and the restraint of the architects' buildings are not at all a mechanical simplification, but a complex and intense research and a constant process of improvement, during which many ideas and options are considered and rejected, which are then reworked until only the essence of the project remains.
At the same time, the minimalism of SANAA architecture does not equal elitism: their buildings are democratic, designed to be shared by a wide variety of people. One of the manifestations of this openness is the blurred boundaries between the building and the environment.
The jury also noted that in any work of SANAA it is impossible to distinguish the handwriting of one of the architects, the image they create is so integral. At the same time, both Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa successfully work separately, although it was together that they created their best projects.
The awards ceremony, which will present the laureates with bronze medals and a $ 100,000 prize, will take place on May 17, 2010 on Ellis Island in New York. It will take place in the large hall of the Main Immigration Building: it was through the customs facilities on this island that about 12 million immigrants who arrived in the United States in 1892-1954 passed. In the immediate vicinity of Ellis Island is Liberty Island with the Statue of Liberty.
