Smiljan Radić Clarke of Santiago, Chile has been named the 55th Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the award widely regarded as architecture's highest honor. The 2026 Jury, chaired by Alejandro Aravena, recognized Radić for a body of work built on material experimentation, cultural memory, and a consistent attentiveness to the people and landscapes his buildings serve.
Smiljan Radić Clarke, photo courtesy of The Pritzker Architecture Prize
Born in Santiago to an immigrant family with roots in Croatia and the United Kingdom, Radić came to architecture gradually. A failed final examination at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile pushed him toward history studies in Venice and a period of extensive travel he regards as his most formative education. He established his practice in Santiago in 1995 and has kept it intentionally small ever since.
His buildings tend to look provisional, sometimes unfinished, often closer to something found than something designed. No two projects look the same. Each one starts from the specific conditions of its site, shaped by climate, topography, history, and use.
One of his most famous works, Pite House - completed in 2005), is oriented precisely to shelter its occupants from harsh coastal winds and direct Pacific light.
Pite House - Photography by Erieta Attali
Another noted project is the 14th Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London - completed in 2014. Large Yorkshire quarry stones form the base of a thin fiberglass shell conceived as a garden folly. Steel columns are hidden inside the stonework so the boulders read as the only thing holding it up.
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion - Photography by Iwan Baan
His approach to existing buildings is equally distinctive. At Teatro Regional del Biobío - completed in 2018, a semi-translucent envelope manages light and acoustics at once, glowing warmly at dusk without trying to dominate the city around it.
Teatro Regional del Biobío - Photography by Iwan Baan
In 2017, Radić founded the Fundación de Arquitectura Frágil in Santiago, a platform for experimental architecture and public exchange that sits inside his own home studio. Alongside his architectural practice, he has collaborated with Alexander McQueen on store designs in Miami, Las Vegas, London, and Dubai.
The Jury Citation describes his buildings as appearing "temporary, unstable, or deliberately unfinished, almost on the point of disappearance, yet they provide a structured, optimistic and quietly joyful shelter, embracing vulnerability as an intrinsic condition of lived experience." Radić will be honored at a ceremony later in 2026.
Smiljan Radić Clarke Named 2026 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate
Smiljan Radić Clarke of Santiago, Chile has been named the 55th Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the award widely regarded as architecture's highest honor. The 2026 Jury, chaired by Alejandro Aravena, recognized Radić for a body of work built on material experimentation, cultural memory, and a consistent attentiveness to the people and landscapes his buildings serve.
Smiljan Radić Clarke, photo courtesy of The Pritzker Architecture Prize
Born in Santiago to an immigrant family with roots in Croatia and the United Kingdom, Radić came to architecture gradually. A failed final examination at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile pushed him toward history studies in Venice and a period of extensive travel he regards as his most formative education. He established his practice in Santiago in 1995 and has kept it intentionally small ever since.
His buildings tend to look provisional, sometimes unfinished, often closer to something found than something designed. No two projects look the same. Each one starts from the specific conditions of its site, shaped by climate, topography, history, and use.
One of his most famous works, Pite House - completed in 2005), is oriented precisely to shelter its occupants from harsh coastal winds and direct Pacific light.
Pite House - Photography by Erieta Attali
Another noted project is the 14th Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London - completed in 2014. Large Yorkshire quarry stones form the base of a thin fiberglass shell conceived as a garden folly. Steel columns are hidden inside the stonework so the boulders read as the only thing holding it up.
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion - Photography by Iwan Baan
His approach to existing buildings is equally distinctive. At Teatro Regional del Biobío - completed in 2018, a semi-translucent envelope manages light and acoustics at once, glowing warmly at dusk without trying to dominate the city around it.
Teatro Regional del Biobío - Photography by Iwan Baan
In 2017, Radić founded the Fundación de Arquitectura Frágil in Santiago, a platform for experimental architecture and public exchange that sits inside his own home studio. Alongside his architectural practice, he has collaborated with Alexander McQueen on store designs in Miami, Las Vegas, London, and Dubai.
The Jury Citation describes his buildings as appearing "temporary, unstable, or deliberately unfinished, almost on the point of disappearance, yet they provide a structured, optimistic and quietly joyful shelter, embracing vulnerability as an intrinsic condition of lived experience." Radić will be honored at a ceremony later in 2026.
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