Tadao Ando

About a decade ago, the Japanese architect Tadao Ando designed a high-end housing complex on an "unbuildable" 60-degree incline overlooking Kobe harbor. There was only one problem: He had no rights to the land and did not know anyone who did. When he presented the plans to the company that held the property, they were outraged. But, as when other doors were closed in his face, Ando persisted, overpowered skepticism, and built his project.

In a return to form for the most prestigious award in architecture, Japan's Toyo Ito has won this year's Pritzker Prize. After honoring younger and lesser-known figures in recent years -- including 49-year-old Chinese architect Wang Shu in 2012 -- the Pritzker jury this year chose a well-established architect with 40 years of built work to his credit. For at least a decade Ito has been a presumed Pritzker front-runner. Along with Tadao Ando, the 1995 Pritzker laureate, the 71-year-old Ito is the dean of Japanese architecture, though with his mop of black hair he looks many years younger.

Tadao Ando, a self-taught Japanese architect known for artistically composed buildings that function efficiently and delight the senses, is the winner of the 1995 Pritzker Architecture Prize. The annual award, known as the Nobel of architecture, comes with a $100,000 grant and a medal, to be presented to Ando on May 22 at the Grand Trianon Palace in Versailles, France.

MOVIES The Birdwoman and Her Dreams The artist and filmmaker Nancy Andrews will appear in person to present the world premiere of a surprise film. She will also screen two of her latest animated works: "Behind the Eyes Are the Ears," which was inspired by mad-scientist horror films, and "On a Phantom Limb," which draws on Andrews' own near-death experience. REDCAT , 631 W. 2nd St., L.A. 8:30 p.m. $9. (213) 237-2800. http://www.redcat.org . EVENTS Tadao Ando One of the world's most decorated architects lectures on the field, with translation provided by Kulapat Yantrasast of wHY Architecture.

In a return to form for the most prestigious award in architecture, Japan's Toyo Ito has won this year's Pritzker Prize. After honoring younger and lesser-known figures in recent years -- including 49-year-old Chinese architect Wang Shu in 2012 -- the Pritzker jury this year chose a well-established architect with 40 years of built work to his credit. For at least a decade Ito has been a presumed Pritzker front-runner. Along with Tadao Ando, the 1995 Pritzker laureate, the 71-year-old Ito is the dean of Japanese architecture, though with his mop of black hair he looks many years younger.

PRESS materials trumpeting the latest from Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando said he rejects "rampant consumerism" in modern building, which must have made this project quite a challenge given its location: between Lalique and Gucci, around the corner from Tiffany & Co., across the street from Bulgari and squarely in the heart of Consumerism Central, Rodeo Drive.

You probably don't give much thought to Fort Worth when you fly into Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. If you think about it at all, you may associate the town with cowboys, livestock and rodeos. And with good reason: Fort Worth residents are proud of their Western heritage. They even call their city Cowtown. But you may not know that Fort Worth is a culture capital, with 14 museums, including a huge new contemporary art museum that was scheduled to open Saturday.

MOVIES The Birdwoman and Her Dreams The artist and filmmaker Nancy Andrews will appear in person to present the world premiere of a surprise film. She will also screen two of her latest animated works: "Behind the Eyes Are the Ears," which was inspired by mad-scientist horror films, and "On a Phantom Limb," which draws on Andrews' own near-death experience. REDCAT , 631 W. 2nd St., L.A. 8:30 p.m. $9. (213) 237-2800. http://www.redcat.org . EVENTS Tadao Ando One of the world's most decorated architects lectures on the field, with translation provided by Kulapat Yantrasast of wHY Architecture.

Building a Museum: The Santa Monica-based architecture firm Morphosis is one of six finalists chosen by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago to design a new building and sculpture garden, the museum announced Monday. The other firms are Emilio Ambasz (New York), Tadao Ando (Osaka), Josef Paul Kleihues (Berlin), Fumihiko Maki (Tokyo) and Christian de Portzamparc (Paris). The building will open in 1995.

French billionaire Francois Pinault has abandoned plans to give Paris a contemporary art museum on an island in the Seine and will house his collection in a Venetian palace instead, he said Monday. Pinault, France's second richest man and a longtime art collector, hired Japanese architect Tadao Ando to build an art foundation on the site of the derelict Renault car factory on Paris' Ile Seguin.

PRESS materials trumpeting the latest from Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando said he rejects "rampant consumerism" in modern building, which must have made this project quite a challenge given its location: between Lalique and Gucci, around the corner from Tiffany & Co., across the street from Bulgari and squarely in the heart of Consumerism Central, Rodeo Drive.

About a decade ago, the Japanese architect Tadao Ando designed a high-end housing complex on an "unbuildable" 60-degree incline overlooking Kobe harbor. There was only one problem: He had no rights to the land and did not know anyone who did. When he presented the plans to the company that held the property, they were outraged. But, as when other doors were closed in his face, Ando persisted, overpowered skepticism, and built his project.

You probably don't give much thought to Fort Worth when you fly into Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. If you think about it at all, you may associate the town with cowboys, livestock and rodeos. And with good reason: Fort Worth residents are proud of their Western heritage. They even call their city Cowtown. But you may not know that Fort Worth is a culture capital, with 14 museums, including a huge new contemporary art museum that was scheduled to open Saturday.

Tadao Ando, a self-taught Japanese architect known for artistically composed buildings that function efficiently and delight the senses, is the winner of the 1995 Pritzker Architecture Prize. The annual award, known as the Nobel of architecture, comes with a $100,000 grant and a medal, to be presented to Ando on May 22 at the Grand Trianon Palace in Versailles, France.

The $240,000 Carlsberg Architectural Prize, which is regarded as a jewel in its field, will be awarded Friday by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in Copenhagen. The first Carlsberg was awarded to Japanese architect Tadao Ando in 1992, famous for his work in concrete, stone, steel and glass that blends with Japan's architectural heritage. Candidates are nominated by 80 architectural magazines and selected by a jury of writers, architects and critics.

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne and his Santa Monica firm Morphosis are on the short list of candidates to design a 120,000-square-foot center for education and art for the Barnes Foundation, the organization announced Friday. The other five candidates are Tadao Ando of Japan; Diller Scofido + Renfro, New York; Kengo Kuma, Japan; Rafael Moneo, Spain; and Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, New York.