La Lira Theatre Public Open Space (Girona, Spain, 2011) Photo by Hisao Suzuki

On March 1, Thomas J. Pritzker, president of Pritzker Architecture Prize (PAP) and HyattFoundation, announced in Los Angeles that three architects Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta became the 2017 Laureates. PAP is commonly considered tobe the Nobel Prize in architecture.

Ever since founding their firm RCR Arquitectes in their hometown in 1988, those three architects who came from Olot in the Catalonian region of Spain, have worked together collaboratively. Their works demonstrate an unyielding commitment to the region and its culture, to creating spaces that are in discourse with their respective contexts. As the Laureates in the 39 session of the PAP, they created a new record in history of three architects sharing this prize, and became the second spanish laureates national prize for Spain after Rafael Moneo won this prize in 1996. The Award Ceremony of PAP took place at Akasaka Palace, Tokyo of Japan on May 20.