French architect awarded Pritzker Prize

NEW YORK, March 30 (UPI) -- French architect Jean Nouvel has been awarded architecture's top honor, the Pritzker Prize, competition organizers said.

The New York Times reported Sunday that Nouvel, 62, is known for his work on a handful of New York skyscrapers, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and the Arab World Institute in Paris.

He is the second French citizen to take the prize, which is awarded annually to a living architect by a jury chosen by the Hyatt Foundation.

"For over 30 years Jean Nouvel has pushed architecture's discourse and praxis to new limits," the Pritzker jury said. "His inquisitive and agile mind propels him to take risks in each of his projects, which, regardless of varying degrees of success, have greatly expanded the vocabulary of contemporary architecture."

Nouvel's prize, which includes a $100,000 grant, will be presented June 2 in a ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington.