The Ego Boost: the Museum Production of the Pritzker Prizes over the Past Five Decade

Abstract

Over the last fifty years, the museum genre in architecture has taken center stage. Because of its singular implications, it has been a fertile ground for the work of the socalled star architects, especially since the 1990s, who, to a large extent, have concentrated the most relevant and spectacular work of this period in the changeable field of exhibition facilities. This unique group of architects includes those who have been distinguished with the Pritzker Prize, the highest award an architect can receive during his lifetime. The following research attempts to evaluate the impact and relevance of the work carried out by this group of architects in relation to the design and construction of museums, taking into account the special affiliation of the organizers of the award with the art world, and the representativeness and significance of the work of these architects who have been major players in the period under study. The work includes as a primary research source an unpublished map drawn up by the authors that brings together all the museum production by these architects and arranges it in successive generations of «Pritzkers».