The Pritzker Architecture Prize

Awards, prizes and accolades can serve as a great way to learn about the top professionals in any given field. As a case in point, I recently picked up a copy of The Pritzker Architecture Prize (Harry Abrams, 1999), a beautifully illustrated 200-plus-page tribute to the first 20 winners of this prestigious annual award, which is given to recognize lifetimes of achievement.   Established in 1974 by Pritzker family (founders of the Hyatt chain of hotels), the stated goal of the prize program is to increase awareness of reigning architectural geniuses.  Most of the prize recipients are still alive and working, and the list of winners includes some of the most extraordinary designers of the second half of the 20th Century, including Philip Johnson, Luis Barragan, I.M. Pei and Tadao Ando, to name a few.   Some I had heard of before, but several were new to me.  In all cases, this