Rafael Moneo is reaping the rewards for his work enriching urban spaces…

The 75-year-old Spanish architect received the Prince of Asturias Award in the Arts category during a special presentation on Friday at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo.

According to the awards jury, Moneo’s work “enriches urban spaces with an architecture that is serene and meticulous. An acknowledged master in both the academic and professional field, Moneo leaves his own mark on each of his creations, at the same time as combining aesthetics with functionality, especially in the airy interiors that act as impeccable settings for great works of culture and the spirit.”

In Spain, Moneo has designed the Bankinter Building in Madrid (1976), the Museum of Roman Art in Mérida (1986), the San Pablo Airport in Seville (1992), the Barcelona Auditorium (1999), the expansion of the Prado Museum in Madrid (2006) and the New Museum of the Roman Theatre of Cartagena (2008).

His international projects include the Museum of Modern Art and Architecture in Stockholm (1998), the Cathedral of Our Lady in Los Angeles (USA, 1996), the expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (2000) and the official residence of the Spanish Ambassador in Washington (2004).

Moneo has won the most prestigious international awards in architecture, including the Pritzker Prize in 1996.

Moneo’s Asturias prize comes with a $64,000 cash prize and a reproduction of a sculpture by Joan Miro.

The awards are considered the Ibero-American world’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

Prince Felipe of Asturias and his wife Princess Letizia presided over the ceremony.