Lord Norman Foster has been bestowed the 2009 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. The decision was announced today by the Jury in Oviedo. Foster’s award is the first of eight to be announced this year, the twenty-ninth year running.

“His work stands out for the continual commitment to architecture’s most noble values,” a release stated today. His open approach to innovation, thoroughness in all phases of a project, use of state-of-the Art technology, the magnitude of his career and his compliancy with the principles of sustainable development were all considered in the decision.

His latest works include the new underground train station in Florence, the Caja Madrid skyscraper in the Spanish capital, and the Pyramid of Peace and Concord Between Religions in Astana, the new capital of Kazakhstan.

He became Lord Foster of the Thames Bank in 1999 and, among other recognitions, was awarded the Gold Medal for Architecture from the Royal Institute of British Architects (1983); the Mies van der Rohe Award (1992); the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects (1994); the Pritzker Prize (1999); the Auguste Perret Prize (2002); the Praemium Imperiale (Japan, 2002); and the Madrid Creatividad (2006).

The awards will be presented in the autumn in Oviedo at a grand ceremony chaired by H.R.H. the Prince of Asturias.