For some time, preservationists have been involved in investigating and evaluating the physical fabric of this country and other nations. In order to encourage further research and publication of research in this field, the Society of Architectural Historians has established an annual award for excellence in a published work devoted to historical topics in preservation.
Named for Antoinette Forrester Downing, the award honors her scholarship and recognition of the value of local inventories and surveys. The award consists of certificates and citations, which will be presented to the publisher or sponsoring organization and the author(s) at the Society's 55th Annual Meeting in Richmond, April 17-21, 2002. The award will be announced in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians and the Newsletter of the Society after the presentation.

The winning publication will become part of the Society's permanent collection, displayed in the library of the Charnley-Persky House in Chicago, Illinois. Publications submitted for consideration may include historic resource surveys, historical studies of the preservation movement, philosophical approaches to preservation, or historiographical methods. In each case, the publication should substantially, if not wholly, focus on these subjects in the United States. The most important criterion is the publication's contribution to the understanding of the built environment. A second criterion is a high standard of research and analysis, whether the publication was written for a scholarly audience, a general audience, or both.

A third criterion is excellence in layout, design, and quality of reproduction.

"The American Architecture Awards"gives an important overview of the current direction of today's commercial, corporate, institutional, and residential work in the United States to the real estate, banking, business, and corporate community, as well as to the press and general public.
"The American Architecture" Exhibition and Distinguished Building Awards Program is dedicated to the recognition of excellence in architecture in the United States. We look forward to honoring the broad range of quality projects submitted this year.
The exhibition is installed at The Chicago Athenaeum.

Submission deadline: April 1, 2005
Exhibition date: Fall/Winter 2005

All submissions must be the work of American architects and architectural firms either working nationally or internationally for projects both in the U.S. and abroad. International architecture firms headquartered outside the United States are eligible to enter projects built in the U.S. only.
For both the Exhibition and Awards Program, the criteria for submissions includes any commercial, corporate, institutional, or residential building type, built or unbuilt in the U.S., designed since January 1, 2003. Unbuilt projects are eligible only when a client is named. Building types and categories are: corporate headquarters and office facilities, retail, hospitality, institutional, health care, government, transportation, educational, and residential and interiors of any kind, including renovations and restorations, and urban planning projects. Previously awarded buildings by the Museum are not eligible.
Entry Fee $150.00 per project submitted.

The Founders' Award is given annually for the best article on the history of architecture published in the preceding two years in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians by a young scholar. The award consists of a citation to be presented at the Society's 55th Annual Meeting in Richmond, Virginia on Friday evening, April 19, 2002. The award will be announced in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians and the Newsletter of the Society after the presentation.

For the purposes of this award, a "young scholar" is defined as someone under the age of 40 or within five years of the completion of a terminal degree at the time of submission of the article. Qualified authors are encouraged to contact the Society using the form provided by the Journal editor.

The Milka Bliznakov Prize recognizes research that advances knowledge of women's contributions to architecture and related design fields.
This biannual prize of $1000 is presented by the Board of Advisors of the International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA) following a two stage process.

Il Pritzker Prize, spesso definito il Nobel per l'architettura, è stato istituito nel 1979, ad opera della fondazione Hyatt della famiglia Pritzker.
Secondo i Pritzker, lo scopo del Pritzker Architecture Prize è "onorare annualmente un architetto vivente la cui opera dimostri una combinazione di quelle qualità di talento, visione ed impegno che producono contributi consistenti e significativi per l'umanità e l'ambiente".
La famiglia Pritzker di Chicago è conosciuta per il suo sostegno alle attività istruttive, religiose, sociali, scientifiche, mediche e culturali. Jay A. Pritzker, che ha fondato il premio con sua moglie Cindy, è morto il 23 gennaio 1999. Gli è succeduto, nella carica di presidente della Hyatt Foundation, suo figlio maggiore Thomas J. Pritzker.
Spiega Thomas J. Pritzker: "Non è sorprendente che la nostra famiglia sia fortemente consapevole dell'architettura, vivendo a Chicago, la patria del grattacielo, una città piena di edifici progettati dai grandi maestri, come Luis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe e molti altri. La nostra attività di albergatori - sono i proprietari della catena di alberghi Hyatt, presenti in tutto il mondo - ci ha reso consapevoli dell'impatto che l'architettura può avere sul comportamento umano. Quindi, nel 1978, abbiamo deciso di istituire un premio per onorare architetti viventi, nella convinzione che ciò avrebbe incentivato non solo una più grande consapevolezza pubblica degli edifici ma anche una maggiore creatività all'interno della professione architettonica".
Non a caso la cerimonia di presentazione del premio ogni anno si sposta in luoghi diversi in tutto il mondo, rendendo omaggio all'architettura storica e contemporanea.
Molte delle procedure e ricompense del Pritzker Prize sono modellate secondo il Premio Nobel. I premiati ricevono una concessione di $ 100.000, un diploma e, dal 1987, un medaglione di bronzo. Prima del 1987, ad ogni premiato veniva assegnata una scultura, a tiratura limitata, di Henry Moore.
Le nomine avvengono in base alle indicazioni provenienti da istituzioni pubbliche, scrittori, critici, accademici, architetti, società di architettura: in pratica, da chiunque abbia un interesse nel proporre la grande architettura. In media, ogni anni, sono circa cinquecento le designazioni, provenienti da una cinquantina di nazioni. La selezione finale è fatta da una giuria internazionale con voto segreto.
History of the Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize was established by The Hyatt Foundation in 1979 to honor annually a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture. It has often been described as "architecture's most prestigious award" or as "the Nobel of architecture."
The prize takes its name from the Pritzker family, whose international business interests are headquartered in Chicago. They have long been known for their support of educational, religious, social welfare, scientific, medical and cultural activities. Jay A. Pritzker, who founded the prize with his wife, Cindy, died on January 23, 1999. His eldest son, Thomas J. Pritzker has become president of The Hyatt Foundation.
He explains, "As native Chicagoans, it's not surprising that our family was keenly aware of architecture, living in the birthplace of the skyscraper, a city filled with buildings designed by architectural legends such as Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and many others. " He continues, "In 1967, we acquired an unfinished building which was to become the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. Its soaring atrium was wildly successful and became the signature piece of our hotels around the world. It was immediatly apparent that this design had a pronounced affect on the mood of our guests and attitude of our employees. While the architecture of Chicago made us cognizant of the art of architecture, our work with designing and building hotels made us aware of the impact architecture could have on human behavior. So in 1978, when we were approached with the idea of honoring living architects, we were responsive. Mom and Dad (Cindy and the late Jay A. Pritzker) believed that a meaningful prize would encourage and stimulate not only a greater public awareness of buildings, but also would inspire greater creativity within the architectural profession." He went on to add that he is extremely proud to carry on that effort on behalf of his mother and the rest of the family.
Many of the procedures and rewards of the Pritzker Prize are modeled after the Nobels. Laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize receive a $100,000 grant, a formal citation certificate, and since 1987, a bronze medallion. Prior to that year, a limited edition Henry Moore sculpture was presented to each Laureate.
Nominations are accepted from all nations; from government officials, writers, critics, academicians, fellow architects, architectural societies, or industrialists, virtually anyone who might have an interest in advancing great architecture. The prize is awarded irrespective of nationality, race, creed, or ideology.
The nominating procedure is continuous from year to year, closing in January each year. Nominations received after the closing are automatically considered in the following calendar year. There are well over 500 nominees from more than 47 countries to date. The final selection is made by an international jury with all deliberation and voting in secret.
The Purpose of the Pritzker Architecture Prize
The purpose of the Pritzker Architecture Prize is to honor annually a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.
In 1994, Christian de Portzamparc was elected Pritzker Laureate, the first French architect to be so honored. One Laureate has been selected each year since 1979 with the exception of 1988 when two were named to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the prize: the late Gordon Bunshaft of the United States and Oscar Niemeyer of Brazil. Philip Johnson was the first Laureate in 1979. The late Luis Barragan of Mexico was named in 1980. The late James Stirling of Great Britain was selected in 1981. The next three years saw the election of three architects from the U.S. Kevin Roche in 1982, Ieoh Ming Pei in 1983, and Richard Meier in 1984. Hans Hollein of Austria was the 1985 Laureate. Gottfried Boehm of Germany received it in 1986. Kenzo Tange was the first Japanese architect to receive the prize in 1987; Fumihiko Maki was the second from Japan in 1993. Frank Gehry of the US was elected in 1989 and Aldo Rossi of Italy in 1990. Robert Venturi received the honor in 1991, and Alvaro Siza of Portugal in 1992.
With Ando's selection, there have now been nine architects chosen from the United States, and nine from the rest of the world.
The field of architecture was chosen by the Pritzker family because of their keen interest in building due to their involvement with developing the Hyatt Hotels around the world. Architecture was also a creative endeavor not included in the Nobel Prizes. The procedures were modeled after the Nobels, with the final selection being made by the international jury with all deliberations and voting in secret. Nominations are continuous from year to year with over 500 nominees from more than forty countries being considered each year.
Zaha Hadid has been chosen as the 2004 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize marking the first time a woman has been named for this 26 year old award. Hadid, who is 53, has completed one project in the United States, the Richard and Lois Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, Ohio; and is currently developing another to co-exist with a Frank Lloyd Wright structure, the Price Tower Arts Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

This award was established in 1993, at the Society's Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, in recognition of Spiro Kostof's extraordinarily productive and inspiring career, ended by his premature death in December, 1991. In the spirit of Kostof's own writings, the award will be given to a work in any discipline that has made the greatest contribution to our understanding of historical development and change.

The award consists of a citation that will be presented at the Society's 55th Annual Meeting in Richmond, April 17-21, 2002. Following the presentation, the award will be announced in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians and the Newsletter of the Society. The winning publication will become part of the Society's permanent collection, displayed in the library of the Charnley-Persky House in Chicago, Illinois. The award is open to authors worldwide for books in English published during the two-year period 2000 and 2001. Publishers and others submitting entries should indicate the exact date of publication with each submission. 

Books submitted for this award may not be submitted in the same year for the Alice Davis Hitchcock, the Antoinette Forrester Downing Award or the Philip Johnson Award; books that have received one of those awards in a previous year may not be re-submitted for the Spiro Kostof Award