The RIBA Royal Gold Medal for 2010 goes to an architect whose renown has been built over several decades of consistently producing a very particular kind of structure — often aspired to, rarely achieved.
The characteristic buildings of I.M. Pei stand serene with the elemental dignity of high modernism, while at the same time expressing both the dynamism of muscular structural sculpture and some deep subtle touches of sensitivity to context.
Given by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in recognition of an entire body of work, the Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by the sitting British monarch and is given to a person or group who has had a significant influence “either directly or indirectly on the advancement of architecture.”
In announcing the 2010 award for Pei, RIBA President Ruth Reed said, “The Royal Gold Medal has been called, often erroneously, a lifetime achievement award. Seldom has it been so true as it is in the case of I.M. Pei.
Seen at Architecture Week.
