{"id":458441,"date":"2026-02-09T16:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/458441\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T16:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:19:08","slug":"british-architect-wins-worlds-largest-architecture-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/458441\/","title":{"rendered":"British architect wins world&#8217;s largest architecture prize"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>British architect, designer and urban planner John Simpson is the winner of this year\u2019s Driehaus Prize in Architecture, backed by the Chicago-based Driehaus Trust and given by the University of Notre Dame.<\/p>\n<p>The award of $200,000 is the largest cash prize in the world of architecture.<\/p>\n<p>Simpson was selected for \u201chis lifelong dedication to and outstanding achievements in traditional urbanism and architecture,\u201d according to an announcement Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Subscribing to the New Classical movement of contemporary architects designing in classical styles, Simpson\u2019s most noted works include buildings at the Royal College of Music in London, a master plan for the area around St Paul\u2019s Cathedral in London, and a museum at Kensington Palace, opened by Queen Elizabeth II for her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. He was also the architect of the University of Notre Dame\u2019s own Walsh Family Hall of Architecture on its campus in Indiana.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJohn Simpson has long maintained that traditional forms are environmentally sound and contribute to the sense of local identity,\u201d said\u00a0Stefanos Polyzoides, dean of Notre Dame\u2019s School of Architecture, in part in a statement. Polyzoides led the jury that selected the winners.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, French architect Philippe Villeneuve will receive the university\u2019s 2026 Henry Hope Reed Award, a recognition with a cash prize of $50,000. Villeneuve specializes in historic monument conservation and restoration and was selected for his \u201cvisionary leadership\u201d in the restoration of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris after a devastating fire in 2019. The landmark cathedral reopened in late 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The jury credited Villeneuve for advocating that Notre-Dame de Paris be rebuilt in its original construction methods and returned to its original form.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to construction workers inside the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral after visiting the restored interiors on Nov. 29, 2024, in Paris. (Sarah Meyssonnier\/Pool via AP)\" width=\"4000\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/France_Notre_Dame_23129.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"17818925\" \/>French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to construction workers inside the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral after visiting the restored interiors on Nov. 29, 2024, in Paris. (Sarah Meyssonnier\/Pool via AP)<\/p>\n<p>The Richard H. Driehaus Prize is presented annually by the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture in recognition of that year\u2019s laureate\u2019s body of work. It\u2019s given in the name of the founder of Chicago-based Driehaus Capital Management and the award will be presented in a ceremony at 11 a.m. March 21 at Chicago\u2019s Driehaus Museum (50 E. Erie St.).<\/p>\n<p>Following the ceremony, there will be a tribute to architect L\u00e9on Krier, the \u201cgodfather of the New Urbanism movement,\u201d who was the first Driehaus Prize laureate in 2003 and who died in June 2025 at age 79.<\/p>\n<p>dgeorge@chicagotribune.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"British architect, designer and urban planner John Simpson is the winner of this year\u2019s Driehaus Prize in Architecture,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":458442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,229,88,3803,2558,2628],"class_list":["post-458441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-keywee","tag-latest-headlines","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}