The Swiss architect Peter Zumthor has been awarded this year's "Spirit of Nature" price for wood based architecture.
 In his latest works he has successfully utilized wood as building material. Among other things he has used traditional building frameworks made of logs. The world's most important price for wood architecture has been awarded since 1998. The price sum is 50 000 euro and it is paid by the Finnish Forest Foundation.
The price is awarded every second year for architectural merits to a person or to a group who has demonstrated ingenious and creative use of wooden materials. The price was founded by the Wood in Culture ("Puu kulttuurissa") association for the purpose of promoting the use and the image of wood by cultural means. The price was awarded at a formal reception organized in the Sibelius house in Lahti. The wooden Sibelius house is the home scene of the Lahti symphony orchestra and it was finished in the year 2000. The first Spirit of Nature price was awarded in the same year.
The first price was awarded to the Italian architect Renzo Piano in 1998. Other price winners are the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma in 2002 and the Australian architect and professor Richard Leplastier in 2004.