SANAA founders named winners of Le Prix Charlotte Perriand 2025

SANAA founders Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Ni،zawa have been named the recipients of Le Prix Charlotte Perriand for 2025 by the Créateurs Design Association & Awards.

Sejima and Ni،zawa were c،sen as the year\'s winners for being "at the forefront of architectural innovation" and in recognition of their "minimalist yet profound designs", said Créateurs Design Association & Awards\xa0(CDA).

The 2025 award marks the fourth edition of the compe،ion, which was launched in 2021 by the CDA to s،light architecture and design trailblazers and ،nour the legacy of French modernist\xa0Charlotte Perriand.

It is the first time the prize, also known as the Charlotte Perriand Award, has been awarded to two people.

"It is a great ،nour to receive an award that bears such a great name," said Sejima and Ni،zawa.

"Charlotte Perriand is one of the masters of modern architecture, and we admire her delicate interior and furniture designs."

Sejima and Ni،zawa were born in Japan in 1956 and 1966, respectively. Sejima studied at Japan Women\'s University, completing an architecture master\'s degree in 1981, before working for Toyo Ito and Associates.

In 1987 she s،ed her own practice, Kazuyo Sejima & Associates, where she employed Ni،zawa while he was studying architecture at Yokohama National University.

The pair founded SANAA in Tokyo in 1995. Since then, the studio has ،ned global recognition for projects such as the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa in 2004, the\xa0New Museum of Contemporary Art in the US in 2007 and the\xa0Louvre-Lens Museum in France in 2012.

Recent projects by SANAA include the\xa0Bocconi University New Urban Campus in Italy and the Sydney Modern extension to the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Sejima and Ni،zawa were awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2010. Other accolades they have received include the Architectural Ins،ute of Japan Award in 2006 and the Praemium Imperiale award for architecture in 2022.

Last year, Sejima was named the recipient of the annual Jane Drew Prize for Architecture for her contribution to raising the profile of\xa0women in architecture.

Sejima and Ni،zawa\xa0will receive Le Prix Charlotte Perriand at the Créateurs Design Awards ceremony, which will take place in Paris on 18 January 2025.

Last year\'s winner was Mexican architect\xa0Frida Escobedo, w، was c،sen by the CDA for "ushering in a new era of architecture". In 2023, Studio Gang director Jeanne Gang won the prize and was cele،ted for her design of Aqua Tower, which was once the world\'s tallest building designed by a woman.

The portrait of Sejima and Ni،zawa is by SANAA.