Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious award in international architecture, has named Liu Jiakun as its 54th laureate. Liu Jiakun is a Chinese architect known for his contextual and human-centered design approach. Liu, often referred to as one who builds with memory, history, and social consciousness, opened new doors to redefine what it means to make space living in contemporary China.
So, what was it that set Liu apart in 2025? In this article, we are going to explore 10 defining reasons why Liu Jiakun is honored with the most prestigious award of architecture in the world.
1. Liu Jiakun’s Architectural Philosophy
Liu Jiakun’s philosophy revolves around a great understanding of the cultural, social, and historical context of each site. Unlike architects who relentlessly attach a single style to their work, Jiakun adapts an approach aligned with the unique conditions of a project. This inherent quality of sensitivity to context, when coupled with the use of local materials and craftsmanship, makes Liu Jiakun “visionary,” who creates spaces of cultural meaning.
2. Designs Rooted in Local History
Jiakun considers architecture as an extension of a place. His work draws inspiration from the historical and material narratives embedded in each location, ensuring that his buildings reflect their surroundings rather than disrupt them. Frequently, he engages traditional Chinese elements- like courtyards and gabled roofs in the context of contemporary needs. This approach results in designs that preserve cultural identity while remaining innovative architecture while bridging between past, present, and future.
3. Innovation in Materials & Construction
Jiakun prioritizes the art of materials, designing architecture driven by necessity and emphasizing local elements over grandeur. He experiments with both traditional and modern materials. He selects them according to their environmental impact, relative ease of availability, and cultural relevance. From rammed earth and bamboo to industrial materials, his architecture acts as an experiment, chasing the limits of construction techniques while retaining a human touch.
4. Human-Centric Architecture
Jiakun’s buildings prioritize the experience of the people who inhabit them. He focuses on how spaces shape everyday life while ensuring that his projects are comfortable, accessible, and intuitive. His designs often integrate public gathering spaces, shaded walkways, and community courtyards that foster interaction. His main priority is to offer good architecture that responds to human needs, from social connectivity to environmental comfort.
5. Architecture as Storytelling
Liu Jiakun is a storyteller in architecture. Each project he does tells cultural, historical, and social narratives related to the site. For him, buildings are not isolated objects, they are a memory, capable of conveying the past while dealing with the present. From repurposing earthquake rubble into “Rebirth Bricks” to making a museum to uncover lost histories, Jiakun’s architecture imparts values connecting people to their legacy.
6. Creating Shared Public Spaces
Public space plays a relevant role in Jiakun’s architecture. Open-air plazas, walkable urban environments, and flexible gathering spaces—his designs revolve around the idea of a communal interaction. He believes architecture should not isolate, it should invite engagement with others to experience culture together. The projects usually merge indoor with outdoor space by inserting many organic elements, such as courtyards and gardens, and by including water to make the communal areas more inviting.
7. Blurring Boundaries Between Nature and Architecture
Jiakun’s architecture often integrates seamlessly with its natural surroundings, creating what the Pritzker prize jury called “new landscapes within landscapes.” He does not treat buildings as separate entities but as extensions of their environments. This approach can be seen in projects such as the West Village, where architecture and landscape are intertwined through sloping terraces, green roofs, and public spaces that replicate natural topographies.
8. Use of Appropriate Technology
Jiakun advocates a philosophy of appropriate technology that champions local craftsmanship, traditional techniques, and regionally available materials over more high-tech solutions imported from abroad. By working intimately with local artisans, he ensures that construction techniques are within the capacity of local labor forces, easily repairable, and adaptive to the conditions of unique environments. He believes that real sustainability of architecture is not simply about energy efficiency but about enabling communities to use skills and materials that are part of their cultural heritage.
9. A New Perspective on Chinese Architecture
In the early 21st century, Chinese architecture is often attached to landmark structures and iconic work built by global architects. On the contrary, Jiakun prioritizes and values subtlety, consideration, and social responsibility. His work moves beyond the idea of architecture as a symbol of power or economic progress, instead prioritizing the needs of communities, the environment, and cultural heritage. He offers a new vision for Chinese architecture—one that embraces humility, craftsmanship, and everyday life.
10. The Lasting Influence of Liu Jiakun
Jiakun’s Pritzker prize win not only constitutes an acknowledgment of his past work but also an appreciation of the continuing influence he offers to the architectural profession. Moreover, his zeal for high social-conscious design has set new benchmarks for architects worldwide. The jury commended him for being apt at creating poetry with pragmatism in architecture, for being rooted locally yet open to universal interpretations.
The Pritzker Prize won by Liu Jiakun reaffirms that architecture is not only about aesthetics but also about context, culture, and community. His work exemplifies a philosophy that combines tradition with innovation, constructing spaces that glorify the past while addressing modern-day crises. Rethinking what architecture can mean, he rethought about sustainability, social engagement, and material experimentation. His work as a 2025 Pritzker Prize laureate inspires architects worldwide to treat the human-centered way of doing architecture.
