The Pritzker Architecture Prize winner in charge of the Catalan pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2018

Venice (ACN).- The winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, considered the Nobel Prize of Architecture, will represent Catalonia at the Venice Biennale 2018. The Catalan Minister of Culture, Santi Vila, and the manager of the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL), Manuel Forcano, explained that this is the proposal they will submit to the Biennale. “It is important that, when Catalonia's talent and excellence are recognized, that the institutions should be able to find the displays in which they can express their style, what they do and what they think,” said the minister. Vila also explained that this decision was taken through a consensus with the sector, so no tender needs to be announced. The studio RCR Arquitectes, which won the Pritzker Architecture Prize on March 1, has 30 years of experience in Olot, Catalonia. The announcement made by Vila and Forcano comes just ten days before the architecture studio receives the award in a ceremony in Tokyo.

The Catalan Minister of Culture explained that this “is not a discretionary decision”, but the award “positions them in a relevant way” and that is why we have discussed this with the architecture sector, the associations, and schools of architecture, “so they are aware and they share the decision”. The Institut Ramon Llull has been in charge of reaching a consensus in this matter and “basically the entire architecture sector agrees,” said Forcano.

Thus, while waiting for the Biennale to approve the proposal, RCR Arquitectes are in charge of the artistic orientation of the Catalan pavilion and they will have to choose a coordinator for this project.