Smiljan Radić Clarke, the Santiago-based architect, has been named the 2026 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, architecture’s highest international honor. Radić’s work is celebrated for its originality, sensitivity to context, and emotional resonance.
Radić approaches each project as a unique inquiry. He avoids a repetitive style, instead responding to the specific history, culture, and conditions of each site. His designs are deeply grounded in human experience, whether partially embedding buildings in the ground, orienting them to natural light and wind, or reimagining existing structures.
Restaurant Mestizo (Santiago, Chile, 2007) | © Gonzalo Puga
The 2026 Jury Citation highlights his focus on fragility, stating, “His buildings appear temporary or deliberately unfinished—almost on the point of disappearance—yet they provide structured, optimistic, and quietly joyful shelter.” Radić’s architecture encourages reflection and invites occupants to interact with light, materials, and space in intimate, thoughtful ways.
His projects range from private houses to cultural institutions, each marked by precise construction and careful material choices. At the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London (2014), the translucent fiberglass and the heavy local stone create a partial enclosure that filters light and connects visitors to the park. At Teatro Regional del Biobío in Concepción (2018), a semi-translucent envelope considers light and acoustics with prudence.
The House for the Poem of the Right Angle (Vilches, Chile, 2013) | Images: 1- © Cristobal Palma | 2- © Smiljan Radić | 3- © Gonzalo Puga | 4- © Smiljan Radić
Radić’s residential work also emphasizes the human scale and emotional experience. The House for the Poem of the Right Angle (Vilches, Chile, 2013) offers contemplative space through carefully oriented openings. Pequeño Edificio Burgués (Santiago, Chile, 2023) offers shelter and privacy while connecting to the city below, integrating weather and light into daily life.
Across more than three decades, Radić has worked in Chile and internationally, completing projects in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Austria, Albania, and Croatia. His practice spans cultural institutions, civic spaces, commercial buildings, private homes, and installations, with notable works including Chanchera House, Vik Millahue Winery, Prism House, and The Boy Hidden in a Fish.
Vik Millahue Winery (Cachapoal, Chile, 2014) | © Cristobal Palma
Radić also founded Fundación de Arquitectura Frágil in Santiago, a platform for public exchange and experimentation, reflecting his commitment to ongoing inquiry and cultural dialogue.
As Alejandro Aravena, Chair of the 2026 Jury, notes, “He is capable of bringing us to the innermost core of the built environment and the human condition.” Radić’s work embodies an architecture that is empathetic and profoundly human—qualities that have earned him the Pritzker Prize.
Smiljan Radić Clarke is the 55th Laureate of the Pritzker Prize. He lives and works in Santiago, Chile, with upcoming projects in Albania, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
