Eduardo Souto de Moura

The Wolf Foundation, a non-profit institution based in Israel, presents its awards since 1978 in five categories – Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine and Physics. In the Arts, the prize rotates around four disciplines: Architecture, Music, Painting and Sculpture. The prize in each field consists of a monetary award of $100,000, and they acknowledge “achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among peoples ... irrespective of nationality, race, colour, religion, sex or political views.” In its latest edition, the prize in the Arts category went to Eduardo Souto de Moura “for his exceptional skills as a designer,” and his capacity to make buildings “engage with the natural world,” and to work in historical contexts. Born in 1952 in Porto, Souto de Moura is, together with his master Álvaro Siza, the most well-known architect in Portugal, and has received important prizes such as the Pritzker in 2011. Jørn Utzon, Fumihiko Maki, Jean Nouvel, Peter Eisenman, David Chipperfield or Álvaro Siza are some of architects who have also been distinguished with the prize in previous editions.