Wolf D. Prix, Design Principal of the Vienna and Los Angeles- based COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, has been selected to receive the Jencks Award: Visions Built 2008 prize. The award, which takes the form of a lecture that will be held in London of 14 October 2008, is bestowed upon an individual who has recently made a major contribution to the theory and practice of architecture. Wolf Prix and COOP HIMMELB(L)AU have had a consistent development of ideas since the formation of their cooperative in 1968, remaining true to the basic idea emphasized in their name – ‘blue-sky thinking’ or ‘cloud building’ (depending on your translation)- which entails the concepts of improvisation, chaos and self-organisation. In his talk ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ Prix will discuss his deep commitment to the art of spatial surprise and material virtuosity.
The Jencks Award is chaired by Charles Jencks, architectural historian and designer.