In a surprise decision, a Brazilian architect with little international reputation comes away with the field's top honor.
"Paulo Mendes da Rocha, a Brazilian Modernist who has worked extensively in his home country for decades but had limited international exposure, has won the 2006 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the field's highest honor. He will receive the $100,000 grant at a ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 30.
His work, which includes stadiums, museums and chapels, is marked by an integration with nature and muscular use of geometry, as in the concrete flying-saucer-like Paulistano Athletic Club in São Paulo. Many of these buildings, including his recently completed Patriarch Plaza, are in that city, where the architect lives with his wife."
"The citation from the Pritzker jury praised him for his command of 'the principles and language of Modernism,' as well as his 'deep understanding of the poetics of space. He modifies the landscape and space with his architecture, striving to meet both social and aesthetic human needs.'"
FULL STORY: A Pritzker surprise in Sao Paulo

San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.

HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.

Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.

Detroit Transit Agency Requests $20M Budget Increase
The Detroit Department of Transportation wants to boost ridership by hiring more drivers, buying new buses, and enhancing station infrastructure.

California Bill Aims to Boost TOD
A bill proposed by Sen. Scott Wiener would exempt transit agencies from zoning rules near ‘high-quality’ transit stops and allow denser transit-oriented development.

Report: One-Fifth of Seattle Households Are Car-Free
According to one local writer, the city’s low rate of car ownership should encourage officials to support public transit and reduce parking minimums.
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