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At the 3rd June, the President Barack Obama attended the Pritzker Prize ceremony in Washington D.C., where the Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto Moura received this important recognition.

This was the second time that an American President attended the Ceremony of Pritzker Prize-giving, that was created 30 years ago. The president congratulated the architect, saying that “he spent his career not only pushing the boundaries of his art, but doing so in a way that serves the public good. Eduardo Souto Moura has designed homes, shopping centers, art galleries, schools and subway stations – all in a style that seems as effortless as it is beautiful. He’s an expert at the use of different materials and colors, and his simple shapes and clean lines always fit seamlessly into their surroundings.”

Barack Obama also said that perhaps Eduardo Souto Moura most famous work is the Stadium of Braga, where never one to settle for an easy answer. In fact, as Souto Moura wanted to build this stadium on the side of a mountain, so he blasted out nearly a million and a half cubic yards of granite from the mountain side, then crushed it to make the concrete necessary to build the stadium.

Concluding his speech the president referred: “and that combination of form and function, of artistry and accessibility, is why today we honor Eduardo with what is known as the “Nobel Prize of Architecture”.