Wolf Dieter Prix is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n architect. In 1968 he co-founded the architects' cooperative

Coop Himmelb(l)au Coop Himmelb(l)au (A pun meaning ''Coop Sky Building'' and ''Coop Sky Blue'') is an architecture, urban planning, design, and art firm founded by Wolf D. Prix, Helmut Swiczinsky, and Michael Holzer in Vienna, Austria in 1968. History Coop Him ...

, which has an international reputation as an important representative of

deconstructivism Deconstructivism is a movement of postmodern architecture which appeared in the 1980s. It gives the impression of the fragmentation of the constructed building, commonly characterised by an absence of obvious harmony, continuity, or symmetry. ...

Life

Early life

Mr. Prix' father was an architect too and he looked over his shoulder in the office. He went to the museum with him and asked: “Why don’t we finish the

Tower of Babel The Tower of Babel ( he, , ''Mīgdal Bāḇel'') narrative in Genesis 11:1–9 is an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages. According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language and mi ...

?” Wolf's favourite meal was ''Beef with dill sauce'', just like his mother and grandmother cooked it. The visit of the

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

La Tourette (designed by

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

), located near

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, was his inspiration to study

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

Education

Wolf Prix studied at the Vienna University of Technology, the Architectural Association in London and the

Southern California Institute of Architecture Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is a private architecture school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1972, SCI-Arc was initially regarded as both institutionally and artistically avant-garde and more adventurous than t ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, USA.

Career

In 1968 he founded the Viennese architects Coop Himmelb(l)au together with

Helmut Swiczinsky Helmut Swiczinsky (born 13 January 1944 in Poznań, Poland) is an Austrian architect. Life Helmut Swiczinsky studied architecture at the Vienna University of Technology and the Architectural Association in London. Career He founded the Vienn ...

and Michael Holzer. Since Holzer (1971) and Swiczinsky (2001) left the office, Prix is the only remaining founding partner of the office. He currently heads it as Design Principal and Managing Director. In 2006 he was commissioner for the Austrian pavilion at the 10th Venice Architecture Biennale.

Teaching

He taught as a visiting professor at the Architectural Association in London in 1984 and in 1990 at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. From 1985 to 1995 Mr. Prix was adjunct professor at the

SCI-Arc Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is a private architecture school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1972, SCI-Arc was initially regarded as both institutionally and artistically avant-garde and more adventurous than t ...

in Los Angeles. In 1993 he was appointed full professor for architectural design at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. From 2003 to 2012 he was a board member at the Institute for Architecture, head of the Studio Prix and vice-rector of the university. He has been a faculty member at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

since 1998. At the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) he took over the Harvey S. Perloff Chair in 1999 and a visiting professorship in 2001.

Memberships

From 1995 to 1997, Wolf Prix was a member of the architecture advisory board at the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research. He is a member of the Austrian Art Senate, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Advisory Board for Building Culture. He is also a member of the Austrian Chamber of Architects, the Santa Clara Chamber of Architects in Cuba, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Italian Chamber of Architects. He is an honorary member of the Association of German Architects BDA.

Awards

Wolf Prix has received numerous awards, such as the City of Vienna Prize for Architecture in 1988, the New York Progressive Architecture Award three times from 1989 to 1991 and the

Grand Austrian State Prize The Grand Austrian State Prize () is a decoration given annually by Austria to an artist for exceptional work. The recipient must be an Austrian citizen with a permanent residence in Austria. It was originally created in 1950 by then education mi ...

for Architecture in 1999. In 2001 he received an honorary doctorate from the Universidad de Palermo in Buenos Aires, and in 2002 the

Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...

for Services to the State of Vienna. In 2002 he became an officer of the French

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

. In 2004 he received the Annie Spink Award for Excellence in Architectural Education for his commitment to education and teaching, in 2008 the Jencks Award for his special contribution to architecture in theory and practice and the

RIBA European Award RIBA European Awards are part of an award program by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Complemented by the RIBA National Award, RIBA National and RIBA International Award, International Awards, it rewards "the excellent work being done by R ...

for ''BMW World''. The Federal Austrian President Heinz Fischer awarded him in May 2009 the

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

in recognition of his outstanding creative achievements. In 2011 he was made

honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of the city of

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. 2013 he received the

Hessian Cultural Prize The Hessian Cultural Prize (german: link=no, Hessischer Kulturpreis) is an annual German culture prize awarded by the Government of Hesse. The prize was established in 1982. With a trophy of 60,000 German marks, now 45,000 Euro, it is currently th ...

(master builder of dreams). 2021 Mr. Prix got the ''Lifetime Achievement Award'' from

ACADIA Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...

Exhibitions

* 1988: ''Deconstructivist Architecture exhibition'' at

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

MoMA New York * 2012: Coop Himmelb(l)au: 7+, Aedes am Pfefferberg,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Literature (selection)

* Gert Winkler: Coop Himmelblau (you live in Vienna). An exhibition and a book. Peter Welermair, Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck 1975 Catalog list Austrian National Library * Graz University of Technology; Gallery H: COOP HIMMELB(L)AU. Architecture has to burn. Graz 1980 * COOP HIMMELB (L) AU. Architecture is now.

Hatje Cantz Hatje Cantz Verlag (English: Hatje Cantz Publishing) is a German book publisher specialising in photography, art, architecture and design. It was established in 1945 by Gerd Hatje Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

; Rizzoli, New York; Thames & Hudson, London 1993 * Gallery Aedes: COOP HIMMELB(L)AU. Skyline. Project for the Hamburg Bauforum 1985. Berlin 1984 * Gallery Aedes: Open Architecture. Berlin 1984 * Architectural gallery: COOP HIMMELB(L)AU. Open architecture. Housing complex Vienna 2. Munich 1986 * Philip Johnson, Mark Wigley: Deconstructivist Architecture. The Museum of Modern Art, New York 1988 * Architectural Association London: COOP HIMMELB (L) AU. Blue box. Folio XXIII, London 1988 * COOP HIMMELB(L)AU. 6 Projects for 4 Cities. Catalog Recent Work. Jürgen Häusser Verlag, Darmstadt 1990 * Aedes Gallery and Architecture Forum: Hans Hollein - COOP HIMMELB (L) AU. Mission statement Expo '95 Vienna. Berlin 1990 * Oliver Gruenberg, Robert Hahn, Doris Knecht: COOP HIMMELBLAU. The fascination of the city. 2nd edition, Jürgen Häusser Verlag, Darmstadt 1992 * Center Georges Pompidou: COOP HIMMELB (L) AU. Construire le ciel. Paris 1992 * Museum of Contemporary Art: Paradise Cage. Los Angeles 1996 * Gudrun Hausegger, Martina Kandeler-Fritsch: Wolf D. Prix Helmut Swiczinsky. COOP HIMMELB(L)AU Austria. Biennale di Venezia 1996, Sixth International Exhibition of Architecture. Ritter Verlag, Klagenfurt 1996 * Kristin Feireiss; Jürgen Commerell: COOP HIMMELB (L) AU. The Vienna Trilogy + One Cinema. Three Residential Buildings in Vienna and a Cinema in Dresden. Berlin 1999 * Peter Noever: Gerald Zugmann - Blue Universe. Transforming Models into Pictures. Architectural Projects by COOP HIMMELB (L) AU. Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit 2002 * Martina Kandeler-Fritsch, Thomas Kramer: Get Off of My Cloud. Wolf D. Prix. Coop Himmelb (l) au. Texts 1968–2005. Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit 2005 * Kristin Feireiss: Dynamic Forces. COOP HIMMELB (L) AU. BMW World Munich. Prestel Verlag, Munich, Berlin, London, New York 2007, ISBN 978-3-7913-3875-0. * Peter Noever: COOP HIMMELB (L) AU. Beyond the blue. Prestel, Munich / Berlin / London / New York 2007, ISBN 978-3-7913-3962-7. * Sylvia Lavin: Central Los Angeles Area High School # 9 for the visual and performing arts, HS # 9 / CoopHimmelb(l)au. Essay. (Text: Karolin Schmidbaur); Prestel, Munich / Berlin / London / New York 2010, ISBN 978-3-7913-4433-1. * Wolf D. Prix,

, Kristin Feireiss, Günther Feuerstein,

Thom Mayne Thom Mayne (born January 19, 1944) is an American architect. He is based in Los Angeles. In 1972, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where he is a trustee and the coordinator of the Design of Cities p ...

Out of the Clouds. Wolf dPrix: Sketches 1967–2020
Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel / Berlin / Boston 2022, ISBN 978-3-03562-532-5.

References

External links

* *
Coop Himmelb(l)au-Website

WOLF PRIX, COOP HIMMELB(L)AU: "Architecture is YES!"

Mittagsjournal 1995.06.03

Coop Himmelblau, Wien; Offene Architektur / Open Architecture
* Authority data (person): GND: 119305712 , LCCN: nr92000305 , VIAF: 15031103 , Wikipedia people search {{DEFAULTSORT:Prix, Wolf Dieter Austrian architects Modernist architects Architects from Vienna Honorary Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Coop Himmelblau Columbia University faculty University of California, Los Angeles faculty Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts 1942 births Living people