Rafael Moneo: Much Honored, Richly Deserving
Every year the Praemium Imperiale, sponsored by the Japan Art Association, is awarded to internationally outstanding artists in five fields: painting, sculpture, music, theater/film and architecture. The 2017 honoree for architecture, Rafael Moneo, has previously won the (even a bit more exalted) Pritzker Prize in 1996 and the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2003. On October 18 in Tokyo, Moneo is to receive this additional high honor, along with a purse of 15 million yen (about $136,000). While correctly identified as a Spanish architect, based in Madrid, Moneo has completed works internationally ‑ some of the most prominent ones here in the United States. And his American connection is reinforced by his service from 1985 to 1990 as Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he still teaches. As a youth, Moneo was reportedly interested in philosophy and painting, but he was influenced …
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