The Praemium Imperiale is awarded by the Japan Art Association, Japan’s premier cultural institution, for lifetime achievement in the fields of painting, sculpture, music, architecture, and theater/film. The following individuals received this honor for architecture, which includes a commemorative medal and a 15,000,000 yen ($130,000) honorarium. www.praemiumimperiale.org
| Year | Architect |
|---|---|
| 1989 | I.M. Pei |
| 1990 | James Stirling (UK) |
| 1991 | Gae Aulenti (Italy) |
| 1992 | Frank Gehry |
| 1993 | Kenzo Tange (Japan) |
| 1994 | Charles Correa (India) |
| 1995 | Renzo Piano (Italy) |
| 1996 | Tadao Ando (Japan) |
| 1997 | Richard Meier |
| 1998 | Alvaro Siza (Portugal) |
| 1999 | Fumihiko Maki (Japan) |
| 2000 | Sir Richard Rogers (UK) |
| 2001 | Jean Nouvel (France) |
| 2002 | Sir Norman Foster (UK) |
| 2003 | Rem Koolhaas (Netherlands) |
| 2004 | Oscar Niemeyer (Brazil) |
| 2005 | Taniguchi Yoshio (Japan) |
| 2006 | Frei Otto (Germany) |
| 2007 | Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron (Switzerland) |
| 2008 | Peter Zumthor (Switzerland) |
| 2009 | Zaha Hadid (UK) |
| 2010 | Toyo Ito (Japan) |
| 2011 | Ricardo Legorreta (Mexico) |
| 2012 | Henning Larsen (Denmark) |
Source: Japan Art Association