Thom Mayne is principal of architecture firm “Morphosis” and was chosen as the 2005 Laureate of the Pritzker Prize.

He studied architecture at the University of Southern California (1969) and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (1987).

Thom Mayne founded “Morphosis” in 1972 and spent the early part of his career designing small experimental projects before rising to prominence in the 1990s after winning several large public commissions. His buildings, often clad in sheets of textured metal and concrete, are described as having the quality of being unfinished and in motion.

He has remained active in the academic world throughout his career. He holds a tenured professorship at UCLA, and is a founder of the Southern California Institute of Architecture.

His prominent built works include the New Academic Building, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City; the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA; Diamond Ranch High School in Pomona, CA; the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 7 Headquarters in Los Angeles; the Hypo Alpe-Adria Center in Klagenfurt, Austria; Giant Group Campus in Shanghai, China and the Sun Tower in Seoul, South Korea. 

He was recipient of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Gold Medal in 2013, and was elected an International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for his services to international architecture in 2014.

Thom Mayne was a member of the Holcim Awards global jury in 2006 and a member of the Holcim Awards jury for region North America in 2005. He presented a keynote address at the 3rd International Holcim Forum 2010 in Mexico City.