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The annual Louis I. Kahn Award, founded in 1983, is Philadelphia's signature event honoring individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of architecture. The event celebrates these achievements in memory of the storied career of Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn—widely considered the most critical Modernist American architect and designer of such famous structures as the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California; the National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh; and the Richards Medical Research Laboratories at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
The event raises funds to provide free design education to children in Philadelphia through the Design Education program of DesignPhiladelphia, which brings practicing architects and designers into public school classrooms. Design Education Introduces children to the fields of architecture and design while empowering them to use design to shape their homes, neighborhoods, and city.
Past Kahn awardees include Kengo Kuma, founder of Kengo Kuma & Associates (KAA); Weiss/Manfredi, award-winning firm, founded by Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi; Pritzker Prize Winning Architecture Firm Herzog & de Meuron, architects of Tate Modern gallery in London, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, National Stadium in Beijing; Stephen Kieran, FAIA + James Timberlake, FAIA, founders of the firm KieranTimberlake and architects of the Embassy of the United States in London; Diller Scofido + Renfro, architects of the High Line and The Shed at Hudson Yards; Bjarke Ingels, architect of Google headquarters; Sir David Adjaye, architect of the National Museum of African American Museum in Washington D.C.; Lord Norman Foster, architect of Comcast Innovation + Technology Center; Peter Bohlin, FAIA, architect of Apple’s iconic glass cube; Daniel Liebskind, BDA, architect of the original Freedom Tower concept; Robert A.M. Stern, FAIA, architect of the Comcast Center; Rafael Viñoly, FAIA, architect of the Kimmel Center; and César Pelli, FAIA, architect of Cira Center.
*Your ticket will be in the form of the confirmation email receipt*
DesignPhiladelphia is thrilled to present the 39th Louis I. Kahn Award to Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / S A N A A, a renowned Tokyo-based architecture firm. SANAA is celebrated for its elegant, minimalist architecture that emphasizes light, transparency, and openness. Founded by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, the firm creates buildings that blur the boundaries between interior and exterior, encouraging movement, interaction, and connection to the surrounding environment. Their work is defined by simplicity, clarity, and a deeply human-centered approach to space.
Celebrated for its elegant and minimalist approach, SANAA creates architecture that emphasizes light, transparency, and openness. The firm’s work often blurs the boundary between interior and exterior space, inviting movement and interaction while fostering a strong connection to the surrounding environment. Their projects are known for clarity and a deeply human-centered sensibility. Among SANAA’s most notable works are the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion, the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, the Rolex Learning Center EPFL in Lausanne, Louvre-Lens in France, Grace Farms in Connecticut, Bocconi University’s New Urban Campus in Milan, La Samaritaine in Paris, the Art Gallery of New South Wales expansion in Sydney, Kagawa Prefectural Arena in Japan, and the Taichung Green Museumbrary in Taiwan.
Sejima and Nishizawa have received some of the highest honors in architecture, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2004, the Pritzker Prize in 2010, the Praemium Imperiale in 2022, and the Royal Gold Medal in 2025.
Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / S A N A A was selected for the 2026 Louis I. Kahn Award due to their profound contributions to contemporary architecture, and their ability to create innovative, sustainable designs that resonate both culturally and aesthetically. Their work exemplifies the spirit of the Louis I. Kahn Award, and DesignPhiladelphia is honored to present them with this prestigious recognition.
The 2026 Louis I. Kahn Award is generously supported by presenting sponsor Gattuso Development Partners — a developer of exceptional, sustainable high-performance workplaces. Led by former Liberty Property Trust leaders John S. Gattuso, President and CEO, the Gattuso team has played a vital role in reshaping the Philadelphia skyline and revitalizing its urban landscape.
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