The 2026 Pritzker Prize was awarded to Smiljan Radić Clarke, a Chilean architect whose work combines material experimentation, cultural memory, and a subtle sensitivity to human experience. The jury emphasized that his buildings balance on the edge of temporariness and instability, yet still offer stable and optimistic shelter.
Roots and history that shape architecture
Radić was born in Santiago to a family of migrants—his father came from Croatia, and his mother from the United Kingdom. This blend of cultures shaped his awareness of a complex world and his view of life as a process of constructing meaning, rather than merely inheriting tradition. The architect emphasizes that sometimes you have to create your own roots in order to gain freedom in both action and thought.
A creative journey full of challenges
Radić’s path to architecture was not a linear one. At just fourteen, he encountered building design at an art school. His architectural studies at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile ended in initial failure—he did not pass the final exam in 1989.
However, this opened the way for him to pursue further studies in architectural history in Venice and to travel the world, which he considers the foundation of his education. From the very beginning, his work has combined architecture with philosophy, art, and literary inspirations, creating spaces where ideas are born.
Pritzker 2026. Small studio, big ideas
In 1995, Radić founded his own studio in Santiago, a small and deliberately intimate space. Together with his wife, sculptor Marcela Correa, he created, among other things, Casa Chica (Vilches, Chile, 1997), a 24-square-meter shelter in the Andes, built by hand. Their collaboration is not just about projects, but a daily dialogue and exchange of ideas that shapes every creation.
Architecture as Shelter and Reflection
Radić explores the boundaries between what protects and what inspires introspection. His designs balance between shelter and refuge, protection and vulnerability. At the heart of his thinking lies fragility—the acceptance of delicacy as an inseparable part of life.
His temporary structures, as well as residential and institutional buildings, remain emotionally present and conscious of the context in which they are created. That is why this is architecture of sensitivity.
International projects and recognition
Radić gained worldwide fame thanks to projects such as The Boy Hidden in a Fish (Venice, 2010) and the 14th Serpentine Pavilion in London (2014), a temporary shelter made of fiberglass. In 2017, he founded Fundación de Arquitectura Frágil, an organization supporting experimental architecture and an interdisciplinary approach to design.
His achievements have been recognized with numerous international awards, including the Architectural Record Design Vanguard, Oris Award, Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize, and the Grand Prize at the Pan-American Architecture Biennial in Quito. His works have also been exhibited multiple times in Tokyo, London, New York, Hiroshima, and Santiago.
Architecture that feels
Radić still lives and works in Santiago. He runs an intimate practice where each project is personal, thoughtful, and deeply felt. His Pritzker Prize in 2026 highlights that contemporary architecture can be both experimental and full of sensitivity. And it does not forget the people to whom it offers space for living, reflection, and inspiration.
