Christian de Portzamparc awarded CDA Lifetime Achievement Award | News

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Christian de Portzamparc. Image via Créateurs Design Association

The Créateurs Design Association has announced French architect Christian de Portzamparc as the recipient of its 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award. Known for cultural landmarks and urban design strategies, de Portzamparc will accept the award at a ceremony in Paris in January 2026.

The award recognizes long-term contributions to architecture and design, with nominees and winners selected through a peer-to-peer process involving more than 300 CDA members in over 55 countries. Past laureates include Tadao Ando, Robert A.M. Stern, and Norman Foster.

Award poster. Image via Créateurs Design Association

“I receive the CDA’s Lifetime Achievement Award as the highest honour, for there is nothing more sublime than the notion of true achievement,” said de Portzamparc. “For an architect, achievement is the sum of buildings or neighbourhoods. Nothing is more beautiful than walking through what one has created and hearing the joy of those who inhabit or work within these spaces.”

“Each project has marked a moment in time, a place, a space – each distinct, each unique in character,” de Portzamparc added. “The work, the inspiration, the research was shared with a multitude of different actors, to all of whom I extend my heartfelt gratitude. All projects are driven by the same passion: beauty is inseparable from utility. Let us be careful not to remove the beautiful.”

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