Hasta La Ideas

Like we said last week when the shortlist was released for the Mies van der Rohe Award, ’tis the season for big architecture prize announcements. Early this week and we already have a winner named for one of the biggest. Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura has been named the winner of the 2011 Pritzker Prize. His name might not be immediately recognizable to Americans, compared to former Prtizker winners like Renzo Piano or Rem Koolhaas, as most his work has largely been in his native Portugal (though you may remember back in 2005 when he collaborated with his former boss and now-fellow Portuguese Pritzker-winner, Alvaro Siza, on that year’s temporary Serpentine Gallery Pavilion). To get you up to speed on his work, Architectural Record has posted a quick slideshow of some of his work, as well as the full jurors’ statement about Souto de Moura’s win. Here’s a bit:

Pritzker Prize jury chairman, The Lord Palumbo, spoke from his home in the United Kingdom, quoting from the jury citation that focuses on the reasons for this year’s choice: “During the past three decades, Eduardo Souto de Moura has produced a body of work that is of our time but also carries echoes of architectural traditions.” And further, “His buildings have a unique ability to convey seemingly conflicting characteristics — power and modesty, bravado and subtlety, bold public authority and a sense of intimacy — at the same time.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.