2025 European Prize for Architecture honors two architects
Palestinian architect, scholar, and activist Suad Amiry and German architect and theorist Patrik Schumacher jointly reveive the 2025 European Prize for Architecture from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art, Design and Urban Studies. The two architects are recognized for their contrasting but equally influential contributions: Amiry for her decades-long work safeguarding Palestinian architectural heritage, and Schumacher for his theoretical contribution and leadership of Zaha Hadid Architects.
Two accompanying exhibitions, Suad Amiry and Zaha Hadid Architects, are currently on view at The European Centre in Athens.
Suad Amiry | image by Columbia GSAPP via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
suad amiry: heritage preservation as cultural resistance
Since founding the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation in Ramallah in 1991, novelist, essayist and architect Suad Amiry has dedicated her career to documenting and restoring Palestinian heritage as a form of cultural resistance. Riwaq’s Registry of Historic Buildings catalogued more than 50,000 structures across the West Bank and Gaza, while projects such as the 50 Village Rehabilitation Project and The Life Jacket Project have combined conservation with social and economic resilience.
‘Spanning for more than three decades,’ notes Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, president of The Chicago Athenaeum, ‘Suad Amiry has been on a heroic mission to vigorously promote, protect, intervene, renovate, and restore cultural landmarks, monuments, and vernacular architecture throughout the State of Palestine.’
Amiry’s vision ties built heritage to collective memory and survival. ‘Israel tore down nearly 400 historic centers during the Nakba,’ she has stated. ‘Hence I will reclaim, document, and rehabilitate another 400 throughout the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem.’
Beyond her architectural work, Amiry is also a celebrated writer, with books such as Sharon and My Mother-in-Law (2003) and Mother of Strangers (2022) amplifying Palestinian voices worldwide. Her approach has earned her the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2013) and the Ada Louise Huxtable Prize (2025), cementing her role as a figure whose practice is both architectural and political.
Patrik Schumacher | image via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
patrik schumacher continues zaha hadid’s legacy
In parallel, Patrik Schumacher has been recognized for shaping architectural discourse through both built work and theory. As principal of Zaha Hadid Architects since 2016, Schumacher has overseen landmark projects including the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum (2023), the Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Arts Centre (2023), and Prague’s Masaryčka Building (2023).
He is also credited with formulating and advancing parametricism, a computational design approach he first named in 2008, which seeks to generate adaptive, fluid, and complex forms. ‘Schumacher uses the term to denote the use in the architecture of advanced computational design techniques,’ explains Narkiewicz-Laine.
Schumacher’s outspoken theoretical positions—ranging from calls for a ‘new universal style’ to critiques of biennales and architectural academia—have made him one of the field’s most controversial figures. Yet his insistence on architecture’s capacity for innovation and systemic coherence has positioned him as a key provocateur shaping global debate.
Registry of Historic Buildings | image courtesy of the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation
europe’s highest architectural honor
Since its founding, the European Prize for Architecture has recognized architects who value humanism, innovation, and critical engagement with the built environment. Previous laureates include Bjarke Ingels, Santiago Calatrava, Manuelle Gautrand, querkraft architektur, and others.
Amiry becomes the 22nd laureate, while Schumacher becomes the 23rd, their names inscribed together in the ongoing lineage of European architecture. ‘This is architecture as cultural resistance,’ states Narkiewicz-Laine of Amiry’s work, ‘and against all odds, Ms. Amiry is an absolute hero of profound proportion.’ Of Schumacher, he adds: ‘Unquestionably, he inherited one of the highest-profile jobs in global architecture, with real clout to see his ideas and theories put into practice.’
Suad Amiry has dedicated her career to documenting and restoring Palestinian heritage | image courtesy of the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation
the center catalogued more than 50,000 structures across the West Bank and Gaza | image courtesy of the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation
Masaryčka building by ZHA | image © boysplaynice
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre by ZHA | image © Virgile Simon Bertrand
Chengdu Science Fiction Museum resembles an expanding star cloud | image Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), © ATCHAIN
project info:
name: European Prize For Architecture 2025
laureates: Patrik Schumacher | @schumacher.patrik, Suad Amiry | @suad.amiry
organizers: The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum Of Architecture And Design | @thechicagoathenaeummuseum, The European Centre For Architecture Art Design And Urban Studies | @europeancentreforarchitecture
