Smiljan Radic: Material Explorations Between Ephemerality and Permanence

"His buildings often seem both ancient and provisional, carrying a monumental presence while retaining an unexpected sense of fragility. Stone, concrete, timber, fabric, and fiberglass are combined in unexpected ways, producing architectures that hover between permanence and ephemerality."

"Rather than pursuing a stable formal language, the 2026 Pritzker laureate approaches architecture as an open field of experimentation, where material behavior and structural perception are constantly tested."

Smiljan Radić Clarke, the 2026 Pritzker Prize laureate, develops architecture that resists conventional classification through a distinctive approach combining seemingly contradictory qualities. His buildings simultaneously evoke ancient permanence and temporary fragility, merging stone, concrete, timber, fabric, and fiberglass in unconventional combinations. Rather than establishing a consistent formal vocabulary, Radić treats architecture as an experimental field where material behavior and structural perception undergo continuous testing. His work explores the tension between different temporalities, positioning architecture within a dynamic interplay between permanence and ephemerality that challenges traditional architectural thinking.

Read at ArchDaily