The Pritzker Prize, sometimes called the Nobel Prize of architecture, was announced this week, going to Spanish firm RCR Arquitectes.

"For the first time, three architects have jointly won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the field's highest honor," reports Blair Kamin. "A relatively unknown team from Spain, two men and a woman, are the 2017 honorees, the prize's organizers announced Wednesday."
"Making their selection doubly unusual, the architects — Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta — practice not in a glittering metropolitan center but in the small Catalonian city of Olot, some 70 miles northeast of Barcelona," adds Kamin.
As usual, the design media covered the news of the Pritzker Prize widely. Christopher Hawthorne wrote an article noticing that the selection of RCR Arquitectes "seems a pointed response to globalization and the contemporary political climate." Hawthorne cited the award jury itself for the connection—the jury described the firm's work as an "approach that creates buildings and places that are both local and universal at the same time." Hawthorne expands that central conceit by saying the jury citation in announcing that award "suggests that the fear underlying those [Brexit and presidential election] votes is not only justified but might be addressed and even tempered by a different approach to cultural production, beginning with architecture." The work of RCR, according to the jury, offers a bridge between the local and the global.
Nicki Mafi provides additional coverage of the Pritzker Prize jury's reasoning for the selection, describing RCR's work as "an embrace of multiculturalism through the prism of design." Mafi notes that the award has never gone to a trio, and thus "the Pritzker jury acknowledged the importance of collaboration in an increasingly divided world."
For articles focusing more on the results of RCR's labor, see a "project roundup" with lots of full-sized, colorful images, in designboom. Dezeen also shares and comments on four short films produced by the Pritzker Prize, the first of which can be viewed below.
FULL STORY: Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigemand Ramon Vilalta Receive the 2017 Pritzker Architecture Prize

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename DC Metro “Trump Train”
The Make Autorail Great Again Act would withhold federal funding to the system until the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), rebrands as the Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (WMAGA).

The Simple Legislative Tool Transforming Vacant Downtowns
In California, Michigan and Georgia, an easy win is bringing dollars — and delight — back to city centers.

The States Losing Rural Delivery Rooms at an Alarming Pace
In some states, as few as 9% of rural hospitals still deliver babies. As a result, rising pre-term births, no adequate pre-term care and "harrowing" close calls are a growing reality.

The Small South Asian Republic Going all in on EVs
Thanks to one simple policy change less than five years ago, 65% of new cars in this Himalayan country are now electric.

DC Backpedals on Bike Lane Protection, Swaps Barriers for Paint
Citing aesthetic concerns, the city is removing the concrete barriers and flexposts that once separated Arizona Avenue cyclists from motor vehicles.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)