Lesley Lokko, a Ghanaian-Scottish architect, has been awarded the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture by the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) for her efforts to “democratise” the industry. Lokko, 60, is the first African woman to receive the prestigious honour that is approved by the monarch each year.
Riba praised Lokko’s work on Africa and the so-called Global South, stating her work has “championed bringing people of colour and other under-represented backgrounds into architecture over the past two decades”. Lokko is committed to enhancing diversity in the field and has founded an educational African Futures Institute in Accra, Ghana to explore the intricate relationship amongst architecture, identity and race.
In her response to receiving the Royal Gold Medal, Lokko said, “It was something that I never, ever imagined would ever come my way. The first person I wanted to tell was my father who is no longer here. [It is] bittersweet in a way, but it was also an incredible moment of validation”.
Pakistan’s first female architect, Yasmeen Lari, was awarded the Royal Gold Medal last year, and previous winners include architect pioneers such as Zaha Hadid, Sir Norman Foster, Frank Gehry, Frank Lloyd Wright and Sir George Gilbert Scott. The medal has been awarded since 1848 and is given to a person or group of people who have significantly contributed to the advancement of architecture.
Lokko will receive the Royal Gold medal formally in May, as announced by Riba
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