Pier Carlo Bontempi to receive Richard H. Driehaus Prize from Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame School of Architecture announced today that architect Pier Carlo Bontempi will receive the 2014 Richard H. Driehaus Prize at a ceremony to be held on Saturday, March 29 at the John B. Murphy Memorial Auditorium in Chicago.

Bontempi’s award-winning international work includes a block recovery plan in Parma’s historic center, as well as the Place de Toscane and the “Quartier du Lac” resort in Val d’Europe near Paris. His studio works on new traditional architecture and architectural projects including restoration, rebuilding and town planning. A native of Fornovo di Taro, Parma, Italy, Bontempi studied architecture at the University of Florence and has taught at Florence University, the École Spéciale d’Architecture of Paris, Syracuse University of New York in Florence, the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart and the Prince of Wales Institute of Architecture in London.

“Bontempi’s work illustrates why the idea of the traditional city and its architecture are referred to as ‘the original green,’” said Michael Lykoudis, Francis and Kathleen Rooney Dean of the Notre Dame School of Architecture. “His buildings, seamlessly woven into their urban environments, demonstrate the principles of the new classicism and urbanism. Their durable construction, adaptive interior space and sensitive urban siting make them exemplars of architecture as an art of conservation and investment as opposed to consumption and waste.”

“Bontempi acquired his vast architectural knowledge and versatility by studying the rich fabric of Italy, the cities and landscapes he grew up in,” said Léon Krier, the inaugural Driehauslaureate. “The serenity, robustness, elegance and economy of his considerable built work provide exemplary models for better cities and buildings in the cities and towns of the future.”

Established in 2003 by the Notre Dame School of Architecture, the $200,000 Richard H. Driehaus Prize is awarded to a living architect whose work embodies the highest ideals of traditional and classical architecture in contemporary society, and creates a positive cultural, environmental and artistic impact. In keeping with the School of Architecture’s classical andurbanist curriculum, the prize provides a forum for celebrating and advancing the principles of the traditional city with an emphasis on sustainability. Previous recipients of the DriehausPrize include Thomas H. Beeby (2013), Michael Graves (2012), Robert A.M. Stern (2011) and Rafael Manzano Martos (2010).

“I am most pleased with the selection of Pier Carlo Bontempi as the 2014 Richard H. Driehaus Prize laureate,” said Richard H. Driehaus, founder, chairman and chief investment officer of Chicago-based Driehaus Capital Management LLC. “His work has consistently responded to the unique qualities of historic environments as well as to the needs of modern society. Each project has achieved a nuanced balance between traditional principles and worldly cosmopolitanism, a quality lacking in today’s urban settings. His work is a reminder to all of us that great architecture possesses not only confidence and wonder, but that it is born of a humanistic impulse.”

This year’s Driehaus Prize jury was composed of Adele Chatfield-Taylor, president of the American Academy in Rome; Robert Davis, developer and founder of Seaside, Fla.; Paul Goldberger, contributing editor at Vanity Fair; Léon Krier, architect and urban planner; Demetri Porphyrios, principal of Porphyrios Associates; and Witold Rybczynski, Meyerson Professor Emeritus of Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania.

A debate has been raging in the blogosphere over the last few months about an article in The New Republic, “If You Build It, They Might Not Come,” in which staff writer Lydia DePillis took Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation to task for botching its effort to revitalize the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

| May 30, 2013

5 tips for running a successful BIM coordination meeting

BIM modeling tools are great, but if you can't run efficient, productive coordination meetings, the Building Team will never realize the benefits of true BIM coordination. Here are some helpful tips for making the most of coordination meetings.

| May 29, 2013

Realtors report positive trends in commercial real estate market

Realtors who practice commercial real estate have reported an increase in annual gross income for the third year in a row, signaling the market is on the road to recovery.

| May 29, 2013

6 award-winning library projects

The Anacostia Neighborhood Library in Washington, D.C., and the renovation of Cass Gilbert’s grand Beaux-Arts library in St. Louis are among six projects to be named 2013 AIA/ALA Library Building Award winners.

| May 28, 2013

LED lighting's risks and rewards

LED lighting technology provides unique advantages, but it’s also important to understand its limitations for optimized application.

Currently Reading

Pier Carlo Bontempi to receive Richard H. Driehaus Prize from Notre Dame

Tags

| Jun 4, 2013

| Jun 4, 2013

| Jun 3, 2013

| Jun 3, 2013

| May 31, 2013

| May 30, 2013

| May 30, 2013

| May 29, 2013

| May 29, 2013

| May 28, 2013

Most Popular Content

Magazine Subscription

Get our Newsletters

Follow BD+C: