Aga Khan Award for Architecture Announces 2023-2025 Cycle Steering Committee Members

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Last night, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture announced the constitution of its new Steering Committee for the 2023-2025 cycle. Composed of 5 primary jurors, this selection plays a pivotal role in the governance of the world-renowned award. Initially established in 1988, the award is internationally recognized as a leading award celebrating architecture projects that set a new standard of excellence in various practices, including architecture, planning practices, historic preservation, and landscape architecture. The award is also most known for its emphasis on applauding projects that use local resources and respect the contextual surroundings.

Chaired by His Highness Aga Khan, the Steering Committee for the 2023-2025 cycle comprised members from very diverse backgrounds. These members include Meisa Batayneh from Amman, Jordan; Souleymane Bachir Diagne from New York, USA; Lesley Lokko from Accra, Ghana; Gülru Necipoğlu from Cambridge, USA; Hashim Sarkis, also from Cambridge, USA; and Sarah M. Whiting, also affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, USA. Each individual is well-established in their respective practice, and together, they steer the Award, establishing eligibility criteria for different project submissions. The Committee provides thematic direction for the Award and plans for the institution's future. Finally, their most critical task involves selecting an independent Master Jury, which subsequently chooses award recipients.

Read on to discover the 6 Steering Committee Members for the 2023-2025 cycle.

• Meisa Batayneh, Principal Architect, Founder, maisam architects and engineers, Amman, Jordan
• Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor in the departments of French and Philosophy, Columbia University, New York, USA
• Lesley Lokko, Founder & Director, African Futures Institute, Accra, Ghana
• Gülru Necipoğlu, Director and Professor of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
• Hashim Sarkis, Dean, School of Architecture and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
• Sarah M. Whiting, Dean, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA

At its core, The Aga Khan Award for Architecture focuses on projects that significantly impact the built environment, emphasizing the project’s social and environmental aspects. The Award recognizes pressing concerns such as climate crises, natural disasters, and rapid urbanization. In fact, it encourages infrastructure development and understands the role of civil society in shaping our living, working, and recreational spaces.

The award has an impactful global reach and has now completed 15 activity cycles. With a documented archive of over 9,000 building projects worldwide, its dedication to celebrating architectural diversity is prominent. With a prize fund of 1$ million, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture attempts to push the boundaries of innovation.

For the Award’s 2020-2022 cycle, the Master Jury was looking for projects that respond to cultural aspirations of their social context. At the end of the cycle, the institution announced a shortlist of 20 projects for the 2022 cycle. The structures and developments were located in 16 different countries and selected from a pool of 463 projects. Finally, in September of 2022, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture announced the winners of the edition, with six winners showing excellence in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community improvement and development, historic preservation, reuse, and area conservation, as well as landscape design and improvement of the environment.