On behalf of His Majesty the King, Ghanian-Scottish architect Lesley Lokko has been officially awarded the 2024 Royal Gold Medal for Architecture. Held at RIBA London headquarters, the medal was presented by RIBA President Muyiwa Oki, acknowledging Lokko’s dedication to promoting diverse perspectives in architectural practice and education. As the curator of the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, she has been working to explore the overlaps between architecture and race, while shifting focus to Africa and its diaspora in the industry.
Although Lokko is not a practicing architect, she uses her practice as a teacher, a writer, and a curator to drive discussion around complex themes like decolonization and decarbonization around the African region. Born in Dundee and raised in Accra, the architect first studied Hebrew and Arabic at Oxford before moving to the US to study sociology, law, and eventually architecture. She returned to Ghana in 2000, after receiving her degree from the Bartlett School of Architecture. Beyond architecture, she has delved into creative writing while pushing a practice-based PhD and has pushed forward the overlaps between creativity, equity, and academia.
Her efforts to “democratize architecture” were praised by the RIBA Honors Committee as a push for fair representation in the policies, planning, and design that mold our environments. As the first African woman to win this distinguished recognition, Lokko's 2024 RIBA Honours Committee citation acknowledges her substantial impact on architectural education and conversation from a Global South perspective. In fact, Lokko’s Architecture Futures Institute in Accra, Ghana, stands as a testament to her commitment to fostering innovation and inclusivity in architectural education. Founded in 2021, AFI seeks to become a “pan-African think tank.”
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EU Mies Awards 2024 Announces Winning Projects for both Architecture and Emerging CategoriesLesley Lokko is a true agent of change who has successfully shifted the dial and pioneered a more equitable approach to architectural education, dialogue, and discourse. By acknowledging and encouraging diversity of thought and embracing a broad range of cultures and perspectives, she has shown us how architecture can reach its full potential. Through her work as an educator, author, and curator, she offers us hope for the future of architecture – a profession and practice that welcomes and delivers for people from all walks of life. --Muyiwa Oki, President of the Royal Institute for British Architects
As the first African architect to curate La Biennale di Venezia 2023, she challenged the international event, pushing it to become a platform for up-and-coming African voices. Under her theme “The Laboratory of the Future,” architects and designers explored the culture and practices of people of African descent within the realm of the built environment.
In other similar news, the architect was recently selected in TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024. Additionally, the architect was awarded the 2024 Royal Gold Medal by RIBA in January, becoming the first African Woman to receive the award. Finally, Lokko was announced as part of the Steering Committee of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in its 2023-2025 cycle.
