Pritzker Architecture Prize has been awarded to Liu Jiakun of China, who earned the field’s highest honor for “affirming architecture that celebrates the lives of ordinary citizens.”

Speaking to CNN ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, the founder of one of China’s first private architecture firms reflects on a career designing unpretentious buildings in an era of excess.

While many architects expand career horizons globally, Chinese architect Liu Jiakun, who is also the 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate, was engrossed in designing a mixed-use courtyard complex in his hometown of Chengdu,