Rem Koolhaas wins Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement

August 31, 2010 architect has been awarded the "Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement" at the opening ceremony of the 12th International Architecture Exhibition of the, on August 28th. The decision was taken by the Board of the Biennale, upon the proposal of the Director of this year's exhibition,. The Board stated that "Rem Koolhaas has expanded the possibilities of architecture. He has focused on the exchanges between people in space. He creates buildings that bring people together and in this way forms ambitious goals for architecture. His influence on the world has come well beyond architecture." The architect Kazuyo Sejima, who won this year's  is the Biennale's first female director.

Rem Koolhaas is renown as one of the founders of the (OMA) in 1975, and author of  Delirious New York (1978) and S,M,L,XL (1995). Among his most important buildings are the at The Hague, the Nexus Housing at Fukuoka in Japan, the  in Rotterdam, the Grand Palais of Euralille in Lille, the Villa dall’Ava in Paris, and the. One of his most recent projects is the (CCTV) headquarters building in Beijing.

The Board also awarded a special Golden Lion in memory of the Japanese architect,, who died in 2006. The Golden Lion for the best National Participation was this year awarded to the. Located in 's and, the Biennale will be open until November 21.