The Praemium Imperiale, created by the Japan Arts Association under the patronage of the imperial family, has been awarded to international cultural figures since 1989, making it the 30th ceremony this year. Each recipient will receive a gold medal and 15 million yen (8.3 million rubles). Christian de Portzamparc was awarded in the category “architecture”, “theater and cinema” - Catherine Deneuve, “music” - conductor Riccardo Muti, “painting” - Pierre Alechinsky, “sculpture” - creating objects from the fog by Fujiko Nakaya.
Unlike many other awards of this kind, Praemium Imperiale still operates according to a system of "stars": its laureates certainly deserve their award, but all of them are about sixty years old or more, they are very well known not only in their professional sphere, but also outside it. You can only see some expansion of geography (for example, in 2017 Praemium Imperiale were awarded to the Senegalese singer Yussu N'Dur and the Ganesian sculptor El Anatsui working in Nigeria). However, this trend has hardly affected architecture: among the laureates of recent years there are recognized, famous masters: Rafael Moneo, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Dominique Perrault, Stephen Hall, David Chipperfield … So this time it was received by Christian de Portzampark, in 1994 the youngest - 50 years old - and the first French winner of the Pritzker Prize.
The jury noted Portzamparc's position as “the leading French architect” (similarly, in the case of Catherine Deneuve, her status as “the leading French actress” was emphasized). Also mentioned were the concept of an "open quarter", equal attention to architecture and urbanism, interest in the relationship between man and urban space.
