Traditional Building

Rafael Manzano Martos, winner of the 2010 Driehaus Prize

The University of Notre Dame School of Architecture has announced the 2010 winners of the Driehaus Prize and the Henry Hope Reed Award. The Driehaus laureate is Rafael Manzano Martos, a Spanish architect known for his distinctive use of the Mudéjar style. The Henry Hope Reed Award goes to Vincent J. Scully, legendary Yale professor and preservationist.

Manzano has designed hotels and other commercial buildings, as well as homes and residential complexes throughout Spain and the Middle East, focusing on the Mudéjar style, a blend of Muslim and Christian influences that emerged in the 12th century. He studied at the Architecture School of Madrid (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitecture de Madrid), receiving his degree in 1961 and his doctorate in 1963.

Vincent J. Scully, winner of 2010 Henry Hope Reed Award

He then joined the Service for the Defence of Spain’s National Artistic Heritage for the Education Ministry and he also entered the Service for the Organization of Cities of National Artistic Interest in the Directorate-General for Architecture. During this time, he collaborated with the Arabian Studies School and started developing his interest in Arabic archeology and history.

Manzano’s skills as a restorer can be seen in his work at the City of Caliphs in Medina Azahara, from 1975 to 1985. Some of his new construction projects include state homes for Chueca Goitia in Seville and Curro Romero in Marbella (now a Julio Iglasias property), hotels in Mosul, Iraq, a hotel resort and shopping district in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and a complex of buildings – a riding club, golf country club, hotels and a modern art center – in Dehesa de Montenmedio, Cadiz. A manor house for Faisal Hassan Jawal is currently under construction in Bahrain.

As director-conservator of the Reales Alcazares of Seville from 1968-1991, Manzano explored and restored this 9th-century compound of fortresses.

He has dedicated his life to teaching and introducing the Classical ideas of art and architecture. His work is widely recognized and he has also published many books, articles and lectures on hispano-arab art and architecture.

“Rafael Manzano Martos discovered a love for architecture in his native southern Spain,” said Michael Lykoudis, Francis and Kathleen Rooney Dean of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. “His buildings speak the universal language of Classical architecture with a distinctly Spanish inflection.”

“Concerning restoration, in my opinion it is necessary to save the buildings’ integrity and veracity as a document itself in history as well as the beauty heritage. As an architect, I’ve always considered the beauty as one of the important results of the intervention,” Manzanos noted. “Regarding new creation works, I’ve always acted according to the landscape in which they had to be integrated, both urban and rural.”

Founded in 2003, the Driehaus Prize is endowed by Chicago philanthropist Richard H. Driehaus. It honors practicing architects who respect the historic continuum, foster community and preserves the built and natural environment. The $200,000 prize has previously been awarded to Leon Krier, Demetri Porphyrios, Quinlan Terry, Allan Greenberg, Jaquelin T. Robertson, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Andrés Duany, and Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil.

Built in the 11th century as a palace for the king of Seville, the Casa de Contratacion was demolished in 1960. An excavation led by Manzano in 1966 led to the reconstruction of this historic building.

The $50,000 Henry Hope Reed Award is presented in conjunction with the Driehaus Prize to honor an influential supporter of Classical architecture and traditional urbanism. Past winners include Henry Hope Reed, who received the inaugural award in 2005, former director of the U.S. National Park Service Roger G. Kennedy, and Argentinean preservationist Fabio Grementieri.

The jury included Richard H. Driehaus, founder and chairman of Driehaus Capital Management; Michael Lykoudis, Francis and Kathleen Rooney Dean of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture; Robert Davis, developer and founder of Seaside, FL; Adele Chatfield-Taylor, president of the American Academy n Rome; Paul Goldberg, architecture critic for The New Yorker; Léon Krier, inaugural Driehaus Prize laureate; and David M. Schwarz, principal, David M. Schwarz Architects, Inc.

News