American architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien have been named architecture laureates for the Japan Art Association's 2019 Praemium Imperiale awards.
Awarded annually, the Praemium Imperiale recognises artists who have made a "major international impact" in the fields of architecture, sculpture, music, painting and theatre or film.
2019 Praemium Imperiale architecture laureates Tod Williams and Billie Tsien. Photo by Taylor Jewell
Williams and Tsien are best known for projects such as the Neurosciences Institute in California, The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, and the Lefrak Centre in Brooklyn.
The pair began working together in 1977, founding their practice Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in New York in 1986.
"The couple and their studio design buildings that blend seamlessly into their surroundings, have strong evidence of the hands from which they're made, and prioritise the experience of the lives lived within them," said the Japan Art Association. "Throughout their body of work, no matter the complexity, they retain the values of their practice and endeavour to leave good marks upon the earth."
The Neurosciences Institute by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
This is the 31st year of the Praemium Imperiale awards. Previous architecture laureates include Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, Peter Zumthor, Zaha Hadid, Steven Holl and David Chipperfield.
Last year the prize went to French architect ...