Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/496780
86 CULTURED PHOTO © VON SCHLAICH, COURTESY OF ATELIER FREI OTTO WARMBRONN W hen the Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded to Frei Otto on May 15 in Miami, the ceremony will be a bittersweet one. In an unprecedented turn of events, Otto died shortly after being notified that he'd won the juried award at the age of 89. Best known for his lightweight, tent- like structures—including his contribution to the 1972 Munich Olympics—the architect was characteristically humble when he was informed he had won the award. "I have never done anything to gain this prize," Otto said. "My architectural drive was to design new types of buildings to help poor people especially following natural disasters and catastrophes … I will use whatever time is left to me to keep doing what I have been doing, which is to help humanity." The architecture community was more effusive in celebrating Otto's legacy, with former Pritzker Prize winners, from Zaha Hadid to Renzo Piano, praising the German master's influence on their own practices. pritzkerprize.com By Heather Corcoran PRITZKER PRIZE Frei Otto in Montreal