Three Spanish architects, Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta, won the 2017 Pritzker Prize on Wednesday for modern works that are deeply rooted in their local surroundings. 

The choice was seen as a move away from the celebrity architects that have dominated the field in favor of the homegrown vision of a trio of professionals who have worked together for 30 years in their hometown of Olot in Catalonia. 

Nestled deep in the countryside of Spain's northeast, Olot is surrounded by beech trees, marshes and volcanoes -- a dramatic natural landscape that has long inspired their work. In a globalized world, the prize announcement said, people increasingly fear "we will lose our local values, our local art, and our local customs". 

"Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta tell us that it may be possible to have both," it said. "They help us to see, in a most beautiful and poetic way, that the answer to the question is not 'either/or' and that we can, at least in architecture, aspire to have both; our roots firmly in place and our arms outstretched to the rest of the world." 

It is only the second time that the Pritzker Prize has gone to Spanish architects, and the first time that it has been shared by three laureates. "It is a great joy and a great responsibility. We are thrilled that this year, three professionals, who work closely together in everything we do, are recognized," said Pigem. 

The prize will be awarded to the three Spaniards in Tokyo on May 20. 

Wang Shu was the first Chinese citizen to win the 2012 Pritzker Prize due to his work at the Ningbo Museum of Art, constructed from bricks salvaged from buildings. He created modern buildings making use of traditional materials and applying older techniques. 

Ieoh Ming Pei, a Chinese-American architect, won the 1983 Pritzker Prize. Fragrant Hill Hotel in Beijing came from his hand. 

Founded in 1979 by Jay A. Pritzker and his wife Cindy, the Pritzker Architecture Prize, referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture, is awarded annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture". 

(With inputs from AFP)