The architect was named by the jury of the award as the most prominent living Mexican master. A variant of modernism, developed by Legorreta for almost 50 years of creative activity (he was born in 1931 in Mexico City), is based on Mexican folk architecture with its clear volumes and bright colors, fountains and patios. To a certain extent, the laureate adopted this principle of mastering the national heritage from his friend Luis Barragán, although the architecture of Legorreta is freer, it has more experiments with form, in which one can see the influence of postmodernism.
The architect emphasizes that when designing, he puts in the first place the environment and the interior - those aspects of the building through which a person perceives them, which determine the degree of his comfort. The facade, which many of his colleagues think of first of all, Legorreta leaves "for later."
This year's Praemium Imperiale, an award from the Japan Art Association, including a cash prize of € 130,000 to each laureate, was also awarded to American video artist Bill Viola, British actress Judy Dench, British sculptor Anish Kapoor and Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa.
