Yasmeen Lari awarded UK’s King Royal Gold Medal for Architecture

Yasmeen Lari has won UK’s King Royal Gold Medal for Architecture!

Pakistan’s first female architect has become the first woman since Zaha Hadid to win the prestigious Royal Gold Medal awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). 

Yasmeen Lari has won UK’s King Royal Gold Medal for Architecture for her work championing zero-carbon self-build concepts for displaced populations.

“I was so surprised to hear this news and of course totally delighted! I never imagined that as I focus on my country’s most marginalized people — venturing down uncharted vagabond pathways — I could still be considered for the highest of honours in the architectural profession,” Lari said in a statement

. “There are innumerable opportunities to implement principles of circular economy, de-growth, transition design, eco-urbanism, and what we call Barefoot Social Architecture (BASA) to achieve climate resilience, sustainability and eco-justice in the world,” she added.

The Royal Gold Medal is awarded to a person (or group of people) who has had a significant influence on the advancement of architecture.

The award is personally approved by the British monarch and this year’s is the first to be signed off by King Charles III.