Chengdu-based architect is the second Chinese recipient of the award
Liu Jiakun has been named the 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate, making him the second Chinese architect to receive the award, following Wang Shu in 2012.
The Pritzker jury cited Liu’s work for its response to social and environmental challenges and its integration of traditional influences with contemporary design.
Liu founded Jiakun Architects in Chengdu in 1999 and has completed over 30 projects across China, including cultural, civic, academic, and commercial buildings.
Notable works include West Village, a five-storey mixed-use development in Chengdu that incorporates pedestrian walkways and public spaces; Suzhou Museum of Imperial Kiln Brick (2016), which seeks to reinterpret historic craftsmanship in a contemporary context; and Luyeyuan Stone Sculpture Art Museum.
Other projects include Shuijingfang Museum, located on the site of a 600-year-old distillery; Songyang Culture Neighbourhood, and the Renovation of Tianbao Cave District of Erlang Town.
In its citation, the Pritzker jury stated: “Instead of a style, he has developed a strategy that never relies on a recurring method but rather on evaluating the specific characteristics and requirements of each project differently.” It also described his work as engaging with both local and global influences, creating buildings that function as “a historical record, a piece of infrastructure, a landscape, and a remarkable public space.”
Liu has previously described architecture as a means of shaping human behaviour, creating atmospheres, and fostering a sense of shared community. “Architecture should reveal something – it should abstract, distill and make visible the inherent qualities of local people,” he said.
Born in Chengdu in 1956, Liu initially worked for the state-owned Chengdu Architectural Design and Research Institute before founding his own practice. His work has been widely exhibited, including at the Venice Biennale, and he was commissioned to design the inaugural Serpentine Pavilion Beijing in 2018.
Liu will formally receive the prize at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi later this year.
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