Architect Peter Zumthor, whose designs include spas, chapels, museums and houses for the elderly, has become the 2009 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Although most of Zumthor's work is in Switzerland, he has designed projects in Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, UK, Spain, Norway, Finland and the US. His most famous work is the Thermal Baths in Vals, Switzerland.

Most recently, critics praised his Field Chapel to Saint Nikolaus von der Flüe near Cologne in Germany. The Pritzker jury singled out these buildings and Kolumba Museum in Cologne.

The formal ceremony will be held on 29 May in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when the 65-year old architect will receive a US$100,000 (£66,601, 74,375 euro) grant and a bronze medallion. Details: pritzkerprize.com