Architecture critic Mark Lamster is the recipient of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
Mark Lamster
Mark Lamster, longtime architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News, has been awarded the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
Lamster won for a series of columns about downtown Dallas that sparked civic debate and revealed how past decisions have shaped the present. A focus of his criticism has been the fate of Dallas City Hall, a celebrated yet controversial work of brutalist design by architect I.M. Pei, which is threatened by demolition as city leaders consider whether to leave the building or pay for repairs that could cost tens of millions.
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Lamster has defended the building, arguing the city’s penchant for not taking care of its possessions, along with a willingness to erase its history and concede to moneyed interests, has placed City Hall in jeopardy.
“To state the obvious, on a personal level it’s tremendously rewarding,” Lamster said of the award, “and I’m especially glad that it will bring more attention to the effort to preserve Dallas City Hall.
“More broadly, I’d like to think the fact that an architecture critic has won this prize for two years in a row is a reflection of the importance of public discussion about the built and natural environment, and I am grateful that The Dallas Morning News is one of the few publications that supports this essential role.”
An exterior view of Dallas City Hall in downtown Dallas, Dec. 14, 2022.
Tom Fox/Staff Photographer
Architecture critic Alexandra Lange won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2025 as a contributing writer to Bloomberg CityLab.
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The Pulitzer Prizes began in 1917 and are considered the highest honor in journalism in the United States. This year’s winners were revealed Monday afternoon in a livestreamed announcement from Columbia University.
“I am extremely proud of Mark Lamster for this extraordinary recognition,” said Grant Moise, The News’ publisher and chief executive officer. “Winning a Pulitzer is a mark of excellence that extends beyond the work of one exceptionally talented critic. This Pulitzer honors the high standards our newsroom leadership has worked diligently to uphold over many years, and I could not be happier for Mark and the editors who worked closely with him to reach this milestone.
“Our goal, day in and day out, is to create a newspaper of distinction. This recognition affirms that we are on the right path as we dutifully serve North Texans.”
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Executive Editor Colleen McCain Nelson, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2010 with two News colleagues, said she was thrilled to celebrate the “richly deserved honor,” the 10th Pulitzer in The News’ 140-year history.
“Mark Lamster has given Dallas Morning News readers something rare and invaluable: a critic who helps us see our city with fresh eyes and sharper minds,” Nelson said. “Mark pulls no punches, but his criticism is constructive, grounded in deep knowledge of Dallas and the broader architectural world and always focused on how we can build a stronger city. Mark’s work has elevated civic discourse and made all of us smarter about the environment we inhabit.”
Dallas Morning News architecture critic Mark Lamster (right) and Dallas chef Chad Houser, who founded Cafe Momentum, participate in the first Dallas Morning News “Duets” conversation series held at the newspaper’s office in downtown Dallas on March 28, 2018.
Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer
Lamster, 56, is a native of New York and a graduate of both Johns Hopkins and Tufts Universities. He came to The News in 2013 in a joint appointment with the University of Texas at Arlington, where he served as an associate professor in practice of architecture. In 2017, he was a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he later taught as a lecturer.
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Lamster has written several books, including the 2018 biography, The Man in the Glass House, about architect Philip Johnson. Lamster’s forthcoming book, Welcome to Paradox City, draws on stories he wrote for The News about the most significant buildings in Dallas. It will be released Aug. 4, through Deep Vellum Publishing.
These are the other Pulitzer Prize honorees for The News:
2010 – Tod Robberson, Colleen McCain Nelson and William McKenzie for Editorial Writing
2006 – The News Photography Staff for Breaking News Photography
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2004 – Cheryl Diaz Meyer and David Leeson for Breaking News Photography
1994 – The News for International Reporting
1993 – Ken Geiger and William Snyder for Spot News Photography
1992 – Lorraine Adams and Dan Malone for Investigative Reporting
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1991 – William Snyder for Feature Photography
1989 – David Hanners, William Snyder and Karen Blessen for Explanatory Journalism
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1986 – Craig Flournoy and George Rodrigue for National Reporting
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The seven columns in Lamster’s Pulitzer-winning submission are:
Keep your hands off Dallas City Hall: Why demolishing I.M. Pei’s iconic building would be a financial boondoggle and an architectural travesty.
Plans to abandon Dallas City Hall are a tragic farce: City leaders seem bent on leaving the iconic building without consulting voters.
Will Dallas ever get out of its own way? Architecture critic Mark Lamster on the kiosk program that will make city streets and sidewalks worse.
How to make downtown Dallas more safe: The Safe in the City plan is a good start, but just a start.
Newly revealed convention center is a gamble for downtown Dallas: Architecture critic Mark Lamster on why the swishy, $3 billion colossus is a roll of the dice on civic transformation.
Will Dallas ever fix Thanks-Giving Square? A new plan promises to transform the perennially struggling park. Can it work?
How Klyde Warren Park brought Dallas together: The inside story of how Dallas got its game-changing deck park.
Dallas Morning News architecture critic Mark Lamster is pictured at the famous Beck House, a work by architect Philip Johnson, in Dallas on Oct. 26, 2018.
Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer