Speaking to CNN ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, the founder of one of China’s first private architecture firms reflects on a career designing unpretentious buildings in an era of excess.

Pritzker Architecture Prize has been awarded to Liu Jiakun of China, who earned the field’s highest honor for “affirming architecture that celebrates the lives of ordinary citizens.”

While many architects expand career horizons globally, Chinese architect Liu Jiakun, who is also the 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate, was engrossed in designing a mixed-use courtyard complex in his hometown of Chengdu,

Explore Liu Jiakun's architectural philosophy: a unique blend of tradition, sustainability, and social interaction in modern design.

The Chinese architect was recognized by the jury for his ability to draw on every site’s unique heritage and challenges.

Liu, known for understated structures that respond to their surroundings, has been awarded the profession’s highest honor.

Liu Jiakun, Chinese architect and founder of Jiakun Architects since 1999, is the 54th winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the highest international recognition in the field of architecture.

The 69-year-old architect and founder of Jiakun Architecture is known for work that underscores the way people are intended to use a space. Not just the way they use the space, in fact, but who, and where,

Pritzker Prize has been awarded this year to Chinese Architect Liu Jiakun. Born in Chengdu in 1956, he grew up in the densifying city, before attending and graduating from the Chongqing Architecture and Engineering College ( Chongqing University) in 1982 with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Architecture,

Liu Jiakun, an architect based in his native Chengdu, China, has won the 2025 Pritzker Prize, the field's highest honor.