Since Léon Krier was presented the first Richard E. Driehaus Prize for achieving design excellence in the classical tradition in 2003, the award’s stewards have sought to broaden people’s understanding of classicism in modern times. “It’s not about columns or construction,” says Michael Lykoudis, jury chair and dean of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, which administers the annual honor. “It’s about urbanism and how people live together, and about sustainability—that buildings should be enduring so that the embodied energy that goes into them pays off in the long haul.”

When Demetri Porphyrios won the following year, the prize committee widened the perspective to include that London-based architect’s deployment of “modern materials within the classical tradition,” Lykoudis says. In November it expanded yet again, when officials announced that Egyptian architect Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil won the Driehaus Prize. This is the second year that the award has been valued at $200,000, twice the original amount.