The Hyatt Foundation announced Smiljan Radić Clarke as the 55th Laureate of the 2026 Pritzker Architecture Prize on March 12. After winning the distinguished award, he became the 2nd Chilean to get the highest honor in architecture, following 2016 laureate Alejandro Aravena. Born in Santiago, Chile, he forged his career by blending his academic understanding with global exploration at IUAV in Venice. The distinguished designer opened his practice, Smiljan Radić Clarke, in Santiago in 1995, where he explore research-driven tasks in partnership with his partner, carver Marcela Correa.
The Pritzker Prize winner has carried out various tasks throughout his profession, combining prehistoric components with modernity and sculptural fragility. Clarke thinks that structures must appreciate the landscape rather than compete against it. Most of his tasks include large stones coupled with delicate fiberglass and stretched translucent roofing systems. Let’s have a look at the most notable projects from this Chilean designer.
Guatero, Santiago 2023, Chile
Designed as a momentary atmospheric environment, it features a luminous, bubble-like inflatable kind that immediately gets attention. The designer developed this job for the XXII Chilean Architecture Biennial, influenced by a conventional hot water bottle. Its pneumatic, clear outside gently diffuses natural light and magnifies noise to create an intimate, inviting environment.
< img width ="1280"height="720" src="// www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%201280%20720%22%3E%3C/svg%3E"data-src= "https://cdn.homecrux.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Guatero-Santiago-2023-Chile-1.jpg"alt ="Guatero, Santiago 2023, Chile"/ > Image: Cristobal Palma Serpentine Gallery Structure 2014, London The Gallery pavilion looks like a drifting shell above the lawn of Kensington Gardens, set down on 14-ton quarry stones. Made with a thin layer of white, clear fiberglass, it offers a fragile weightlessness to the round structure. The semi-translucent fiberglass layer filters the daylight, offering a soft radiance to the interior. The sensational stone-like appearance gives a strong ancient appeal to its architecture. 
< img width="1280"height="720 "src="// www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%201280%20720%22%3E%3C/svg%3E"data-src= "https://cdn.homecrux.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Serpentine-Gallery-Pavilion-2014-London-2.jpg"alt ="Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2014, London"/ >
Image: Iwan Baan Also Read: Exploring the Art of Architecture With Manuela Lucá-Dazio, Pritzker’s Executive Director House for the Poem of the Right Angle 2013, Chile Nestled in the thick forest landscape, your house for the Poem of the Right Angle stimulates a strong forest charm. Clarke developed the house as a contemplative retreat with sharp-angled skylight roofing systems and black concrete walls. The structure appears like a remote, primitive cave, concealed away from the world. Your house for the Poem commemorates Le Corbusier’s book of lithographs with its irregular geometry and closed-off vessel style.
Image: Cristobal Palma Teatro Regional del Biobío 2018, Chile The 2026 Pritzker laureate developed the Teatro Regional del Biobío in Concepción, Chile, together with Eduardo Castillo and Gabriela Medrano, for worldwide competition to create a new local theater in 2011. Born out of destruction triggered by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, the paper lantern-like landmark functions as a beacon of hope for local people. Its Teflon-coated fiberglass façade radiances like a lantern throughout the night and becomes an unfinished sculpture throughout daytime.
Image: Iwan Baan Vik Millahue Winery 2013, Chile The Vik Millahue winery, situated within Bicentenario Park, Santiago, includes a striking architecture that appears like an extension of the landscape. Built by Smiljan Radić Clarke and Loreto Lyon, the winery includes a white material roofing, resembling a big wing, extended over the valley. Clarke collaborated with his partner, Marcela Correa, to develop a sculptural river rock installation within the water mirror plaza. The water mirror plaza collaborates with the white roof to keep the internal temperature level cool, which is important for red wine fermentation and the cooling procedure.
Image: Cristobal Palma