Swiss architect untouched by fad or fashion wins prized Pritzker award

A little-known architect who runs a small practice in a remote village in the Swiss Alps and who has consistently eschewed the fads and fashions of his day has won this year's Pritzker prize, the world's most prestigious award in architecture.

Peter Zumthor is an architect's architect: he is hugely admired within the profession as a designer of precision and integrity and a master craftsman working in a range of materials from sandblasted glass to cedar shingles.

The Pritzker award, announced yesterday, will earn him $100,000 (£67,500) in prize money but, more importantly, will help broadcast his work to a wider audience.