SCI-Arc Director Eric Owen Moss, principal of Eric Owen Moss Architects, has been announced as the winner of the 2011 Jencks Award, which is given annually to an individual that has recently made a major contribution to the theory and practice of architecture internationally.

Moss has, over 30 years, evolved a unique local grammar of architecture in Culver City, Los Angeles. Here he has created a modern vernacular that is at once creative, critical and evocative—showing a commitment to place and character that is rare if not unique. He started Eric Owen Moss Architects in 1973 in Los Angeles and has since become involved in lectures, exhibitions and teaching around the world. Recent projects include two office towers and a multi-theatre performance center in Los Angeles, a hotel and office complex in West Hollywood, a mixed-use project in Kazakhstan, and a master plan for an ecologically integrated city in La Paz, Bolivia.

Previous recipients of the Jencks Award include Zaha Hadid, Foreign Office Architects, Peter Eisenman, Cecil Balmond, UNStudio, Wolf D. Prix & Coop Himmelb(l)au, Charles Correa and Steven Holl.

The award will be presented by the Royal Institute of British Architects in London on December 6, 2011, followed by a public lecture by Moss, chaired by Charles Jencks. To attend the lecture, register HERE.

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