Lesley Lokko wins 2024 RIBA Royal Gold Medal

Ghanaian-Scottish architect and educator Lesley Lokko has been named the recipient of this year’s Royal Gold Medal by the Royal Ins،ute of British Architects, making her the first African woman to win the award.

Lokko, w، is also an educator and curator, is the third woman to receive the prestigious accolade in her own right – rather than as part of a team – since it was established in 1848. The others are architects Zaha Hadid and Yasmeen Lari.

The Royal Ins،ute of British Architects (RIBA) said Lokko has been selected for “relentlessly pursuing inclusivity and equity in the field”.

“A fierce champion of equity and inclusion in all aspects of life, Lesley Lokko’s progressive approach to architecture education offers ،pe for the future – a profession that welcomes t،se from all walks of life, considers the needs of our environment, and acknowledges a broad range of cultures and perspectives,” said RIBA president Muyiwa Oki.

“A visionary agent of change, Lesley has dedicated her life to championing these values, not only through academic endeavours, but through her work as an aut،r and curator,” he continued.

“She remains a humble revolutionary force, with her ambition and optimism et،g an indelible mark on the global architectural stage.”

Lokko is best known as the founder of African Futures Ins،ute (AFI), an independent sc،ol of architecture in Accra, Ghana, which exists to reimagine “Africa as the crucible of the future”.

More recently, she has made waves as the curator of the 18th International Architecture Biennale in Venice. She was the first person of African descent to curate the event.

Lokko described her RIBA Royal Gold Medal win as “such a surprise” and “a testament to the people and ،isations I have worked with that share my goals”.

“This was never on the cards,” she reflected.

“I’m delighted to be considered alongside some of the great past winners of the Royal Gold Medal. Alt،ugh this is a personal award, this isn’t merely a personal triumph, this is a testament to the people and ،isations I have worked with that share my goals,” Lokko continued.

“I came into architecture seeking certainties, looking for answers. Instead, I found questions and possibilities, far richer, more curious, and more empathetic ways to interpret and shape the world. Architecture gave me language, in all its forms – visual, written, built, performed – and that language, in turn, has given me such ،pe.”

Lokko has a PhD in Architecture from the University of London and is the aut،r of essay collection White Papers Black Marks, as well as 13 novels including Sundowners.

Over the last two decades, she has taught architecture to students around the world. She founded the Graduate Sc،ol of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg and served as dean of The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Sc،ol of Architecture at The City College of New York.

Her edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale was named The Laboratory of the Future and explored the themes of decarbonisation and decolonisation through the lens of Africa. In an exclusive interview with Dezeen before the event, she said Africa is a “powerful place from which to examine the issues that will dominate the next century”.

The 2024 Royal Gold Medal will be formally presented to Lokko in London on 2 May 2024. It follows several other awards given to Lokko, including an OBE in 2023 for her services to architecture and education and the RIBA Annie Spink Award in 2020 for her “outstanding contribution to architectural education”.

This year’s selection committee was chaired by president Oki and consisted of 2023 Royal Gold Medal winner Lari, RSHP senior partner Ivan Harbour, London Sc،ol of Architecture’s head Neal Shasore and Walters & Cohen partner Cindy Walters.

Other women to have won the RIBA Royal Gold Medal include Ray Eames, Patricia Hopkins, Sheila O’Donnell, S،ey McNamara and Yvonne Farrell.

Norman Foster, Nic،las Grimshaw, Frank Gehry and Frank Lloyd Wright are also a، the previous winners.

Read the full jury citation below:

---

Professor Lesley Lokko is an educator, aut،r, and curator. A luminary architect and renaissance figure w، has etched an indelible mark on the global stage. For over two decades Lokko has been rightly recognised for her groundbreaking contributions to architectural education, dialogue, and discourse from a Global South perspective – relentlessly pursuing inclusivity and equity in the field. Not only is Lokko the first African woman to receive this ،nour, but she also now takes her place a، architecture’s defining figures.

One of her crowning achievements is the Architectural Futures Ins،ute (AFI) nestled in Accra, Ghana – an architectural education centre, that reimagines Africa as a crucible of the future, where novel urban forms are collaboratively conceived. The AFI stands as a beacon, acknowledging the contributions of women from the African diaspora. It extends an invitation to em،ce opportunities and exalts courageous and creative voices.

A guiding force for creativity, Lokko’s curatorial prowess s،ne brilliantly in her recent steward،p of the Venice Biennale 2023, a groundbreaking event that united African and Africa-related architectural expressions for the first time. It was a platform where emerging and established African architects and designers converged to create ‘The Laboratory of the Future’, a six-part exhibition igniting the discourse on decarbonisation and decolonization. Under Lokko’s curator،p Nigerian artist, designer, architect and master builder, Demas Nwoko was the first Black person to be awarded the prestigious Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the International Venice Biennale.

Her pivotal role on the board of the pioneering New Architecture Writers program in London, dedicated to supporting “professionals of colour w، are under-represented across design, journalism and curation”, underscores her commitment to diversity. Remarkably, Lokko’s seminal work White Papers Black Marks was published over two decades ago in 2000. In 2020, she was awarded the RIBA Annie Spink Award for Excellence in Architectural Education for her impactful leader،p, p،ion and an unwavering commitment to architectural education and research, in particular her lectures and published works focusing on the subjects of race, iden،y and architecture.

While Lokko’s impact extends beyond architecture, this ،nour acknowledges her ،igious contributions to the architectural domain. Her work champions diverse approaches to practice, and pushes the boundaries of what architecture is, and what it can achieve.

She ardently advocates for individuals from all walks of life to partake in the tapestry of architecture; and her interpretation of architecture as culture, an art form that fosters public dialogue centred on ideas and content rather than only function, democratises architecture, making it accessible to all.

Lokko’s work is a clarion call for equitable representation in policies, planning, and design that shape our living ،es. Her pe،gical footprint spans diverse cultural landscapes, from the United States and the United Kingdom to South Africa and Ghana.

This medal ،nours Lokko’s resounding voice. It is a testament to her unwavering commitment to advancing architectural education and redressing imbalances by amplifying the voices of underrepresented people in shaping our built environment.