Swiss architect Peter Zumthor captures Pritzker prize

Peter Zumthor, a Swiss architect whose creations include chapels, spas, museums and housing for seniors, is the winner of the 2009 Pritzker Architecture Prize.

''I'm an architect who works on the whole building himself,'' Zumthor told the Associated Press.

''I hope this prize could give a lot of hope to young guys: they say, 'Zumthor is doing it, so we should be able to do this also, to do the whole building, not just deliver images or facades,''' he said.

Often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of architecture," the annual award is handed out each year to a living architect for significant achievement. It was established by the Pritzker family of Chicago through their Hyatt Foundation in 1979.