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Maurice Culot

Maurice Culot

2019 Laureate

Maurice Culot, a Paris-based architect, urbanist, theorist and critic who was at the forefront of the creation of the modern traditional movement, influencing the thinking and practice of architecture for generations, will receive the 2019 Richard H. Driehaus Prize at the University of Notre Dame. Established in 2003, the $200,000 prize honors lifetime contributions to traditional, classical and sustainable architecture and urbanism in the modern world.

“Maurice Culot has had a remarkable influence on generations of architects and urbanists, leading the retrieval and dissemination of knowledge about what makes a city vibrant and livable,” said Michael Lykoudis, Driehaus Prize jury chair and Francis and Kathleen Rooney Dean of Notre Dame’s School of Architecture. “From publications, competitions and prizes to the work of his own practice, Culot has made immense contributions to the improvement of cities around the world.”

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Jury Citation

The jury citation states, “Culot’s organizations and collaborations in publications, counter-proposals and prizes, as well as his teaching and lecturing worldwide, have influenced generations of architects and urbanists. Culot made it possible to recover the knowledge of the elements and principles that have defined the best urban environments across time and place that was nearly lost, providing a brighter future for cities, towns and villages around the globe.”

Additional Information

A native of Charleroi, Belgium, Culot attended the prestigious L'École de la Cambre in Brussels. Upon graduating in 1964, he completed a residency at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Taliesin West. From those experiences, he went on to pursue an academic career, as a teacher and theorist whose writing has had far reaching impact. Culot is president of ARCAS Architecture & Urbanism, with associate offices in Paris, Belgium and Poland. ARCAS focuses on the construction of new neighborhoods and urban extensions with designs rooted in the history and culture of the particular region.