RAFAEL MONEO AWARDED PRAEMIUM IMPERIALE PRIZE FOR ARCHITECTURE

Spanish architect Rafael Moneo has been named as the architecture laureate for the 2017 Praemium Imperiale a prestigious art prize awarded annually by the Japan Art Association.

Since being brought into the public consciousness with his design for the National Museum of Roman Art in Mérida, Spain in 1986, Moneo has gone on to complete projects across the globe, notably the Madrid Atocha Railway Station (1992), the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles (2002), and the Prado Museum Extension (2007).

The 80-year-old Spanish architect will receive the 15 million yen prize (£102,000) and a gold medal from Prince Hitachi, younger brother of the current emperor and honorary patron of the Japan Art Association, at a ceremony in Tokyo on October 18.

The prize celebrates lifetime achievement in areas not recognized by the Nobel Prize.