About
Established in 2003, the Richard H. Driehaus Prize honors, promotes and encourages architectural excellence that applies the principles of traditional, classical and sustainable architecture and urbanism in contemporary society and environments. It is presented annually by the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture to an outstanding architect in recognition of their work.
The Driehaus Prize continues to build on its mission to provide a forum for the discussion of the principles of the traditional city and its architecture. Together with the Henry Hope Reed Award, the Driehaus Prize supports the mission of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, to educate leaders with a strong belief in principles that encourage beauty and authentic sustainability while facilitating strong civic bonds.
The Choregic Monument
The Choregic Monument of Lysikrates in Athens is best known as the first use of the Corinthian Order on the outside of a building. This exquisite monument is minor in size but has served as an expression of Corinthian elegance in exterior and interior applications throughout the United States and Europe. The monument, one of the most delightful remains of Hellenistic antiquity, was initially built as a monumental base to support a now-lost bronze tripod won by a young man as the trophy for a musical competition in 334 B.C. His proud parents exalted this victory by constructing a blue-marble structure from Mount Hymetos not only to raise the bronze tripod on a pedestal, but to create a lasting architectural icon. The square base supports a cylindrical tower surrounded by six columns of white marble from Mount Penteli, the same marble used in the Parthenon. The number of columns is divided in half to culminate in a three-pronged finial covered with intertwining acanthus leaves and stalks that provided the rests for the tripod.