Wolf dPrix

Wolf dPrix was born in 1942 in Vienna, Austria, and studied architecture at the Vienna University of Technology, the Architectural Association (AA) in London as well as at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles.

In 1968 Wolf dPrix, Helmut Swiczinsky and Michael Holzer founded Coop Himmelb(l)au in Vienna as an alternative to the linear architectural thinking of the time. Wolf dPrix is counted among the originators of the deconstructivist architecture movement. Coop Himmelb(l)au had its international breakthrough with the invitation to the exhibition ​“Deconstructivist Architecture” at MoMA New York in 1988. 

Throughout his career, Wolf dPrix has remained active in education and academic life. He was a tenured Professor at the University of Applied Arts from 1990 – 2011 (Studio Prix) and served as Chair of the Institute of Architecture and Vice-Rector from 2003 – 2012. During this time he set the international standards in architectural education. He has held teaching positions at the Architectural Association (AA) in London (1972, 1984, 1986, 1988), MIT (1986), Harvard University (1990), Columbia (1998), UCLA (1999, 2001, 2014; Harvey S. Perloff-Chair in 1999), Yale (2016), PENN (1987, 2019) and the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) from 1987 – 1995, 2014, 2016 – 2020 and other institutions around the world. He was appointed Docteur Honoris Causa of the Universidad de Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the ​“Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism, Bucharest, Romania. He has also been awarded an Honorary Diploma of the Architectural Association (AA) in London.

Wolf dPrix’s distinguished honors include the two highest Austrian awards given for cultural achievements: the Grand Austrian State Prize in 1999 and the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art in 2009. Additional awards include, among others: the Schelling Architecture Award (1992), the Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2002), the Annie Spink Award (2004), the Jencks Award (2008), the Hessian Cultural Prize (2013), the Digital Futures Project Award (2021), and the ACADIA Lifetime Achievement Award (2021). He is a member of the Austrian Arts Senate, the Curia for Art, since 2014 as chairman as well as the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and an Honorary Member of the Österreich | Deutschland | Gesellschaft. Honorary and professional memberships, among others, include; Honorary Member of the Association of German Architects (BDA), Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architecture (HFAIA), Member of the Austrian Chamber of Architects and Consulting Engineers, the ZV Zentralvereinigung der Architekten Österreichs, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architectural Association Santa Clara, Cuba. 

Wolf dPrix’s work has been published in countless books and periodicals and his architectural designs have been exhibited in numerous museums and collections worldwide. Institutions such as the Getty Foundation, the MAK Museum of Applied Arts, and the Centre George Pompidou show the work in permanent exhibitions. In 2006 Wolf dPrix was commissioner for the Austrian contribution to the 10th Venice Biennale.