The RIBA President's Medals are international awards presented annually by the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

(RIBA) to architecture students or recent graduates. Participation is by direct invitation only to over 500 schools of architecture located in 100 countries. Schools are invited to nominate up to 2 entries for the Bronze Medal, up to 2 entries for the Silver Medal, and 1 entry for the Dissertation Medal. In 2024, a record 372 entries were received from 118 schools located in 36 countries. RIBA SIlver Medal

History

The RIBA President's Medals have been awarded annually since 1836, the year when George Godwin was awarded the Honorary Silver Medal for his essay 'Nature and Properties of Concrete, and its Application to Construction up to the Current Period'. Medals are awarded in three categories: the Bronze Medal for best design project at RIBA Part 1 or equivalent; the Silver Medal for best design project at RIBA Part 2 or equivalent; and the Dissertation Medal (written during either Part 1 or Part 2). The judges also award up to five commendations in each category, the Awards for Sustainable Design, and the Serjeant Awards for Excellence in Drawing. As the RIBA's oldest awards (preceding the

Royal Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...

, formally established in 1848), the RIBA President's Medals embody the RIBA's commitment to architecture and the education of individuals into understanding architecture's wider social benefits.

Judging

An international jury of architects, designers and artists select the winners from entries submitted by schools of architecture worldwide. Former judges include

Cedric Price Cedric Price FRIBA (11 September 1934 – 10 August 2003) was an English architect and influential teacher and writer on architecture. Early life and education The son of the architect A.G. Price, who worked with Harry Weedon, Price was b ...

David Adjaye Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect who has designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History, National Museum of African American History and ...

David Chipperfield Sir David Alan Chipperfield, , (born 18 December 1953) is a British architect. He established David Chipperfield Architects in 1985, which grew into a global architectural practice with offices in London, Berlin, Milan, Shanghai, and Santiago d ...

, Denys Lasdun,

Daniel Libeskind Daniel Libeskind (born May 12, 1946) is a Polish–American architect, artist, professor and set designer. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect. He is known for the design a ...

, Ian Ritchie, Michael Hopkins, Simon Hudspith, Eva Jiricna,

Will Alsop William Allen Alsop (12 December 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a British architect and Professor of Architecture at University for the Creative Arts's Canterbury School of Architecture. He was responsible for several distinctive and controversial ...

, Bob Allies,

Kazuyo Sejima is a Japanese architect and director of her own firm, Kazuyo Sejima & Associates. In 1995, she co-founded the firm SANAA (Sejima + Nishizawa & Associates). In 2010, Sejima was the second woman to receive the Pritzker Prize, which was awarde ...

, Patrick Schumacher, Ken Shuttleworth,

Benedetta Tagliabue Benedetta Tagliabue (born 23 June 1963) is an Italian architect based in Barcelona. Along with Spanish architect Enric Miralles, the pair co-founded EMBT Architects, an international studio, where she is currently the principal and director. S ...

, Ian Davidson,

Bruce McLean Bruce McLean (born 1944) is a Scottish sculptor, performance artist and painter. McLean was born in Glasgow and studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1961 to 1963, and at Saint Martin's School of Art, London, from 1963 to 1966. At Saint Martin ...

Odile Decq Odile Decq (born 1955) is a French architect, urban planner and academic. She is the founder of the Paris firm, Studio Odile Decq and the architecture school, Confluence Institute. Decq is known for her self-described goth appearance and style. ...

, Lella Vignelli, Farshid Moussavi, Nanako Umemoto, Nathalie de Vries, Eric Parry, Vicky Richardson, Ellen Van Loon, Catherine Slessor, Harriet Harriss, Hamza Shaikh, and Julia B. Bolles-Wilson.

Ceremony

The winners receive their awards from the RIBA President at a ceremony held at the RIBA in early December of each year. Guest speakers have included

Norman Foster Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank (born 1 June 1935) is an English architect. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Lord Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. Hi ...

Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British-Italian architect noted for his modernist and constructivist designs in high-tech architecture. He was the founder at Rogers Stirk Harbour + ...

, Mark Lawson, Richard MacCormac,

Paul Smith Paul Smith is the name of: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (English singer) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of British in ...

, Martha Schwartz, and Alex James.

Exhibition

An exhibition of winning work and selected entries is exhibited at the RIBA HQ in London for two months before touring throughout the UK and internationally. Over the last few years, and after closing in London, the President's Medals exhibition has been displayed in the UK (

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Edinburgh,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, Liverpool, Newcastle, and

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

) and also travelled internationally to Australia,

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, Chile, China,

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, France, Hong Kong,

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, Ireland,

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, Singapore, South Africa,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. The touring of the exhibition is made possible by the generosity of art galleries and schools of architecture that partner with the RIBA to display the exhibition.

Winners

Silver Medal: * 2024: Joe Franklin (Kingston University, UK) * 2023: Ellie Harding (The London School of Architecture, UK) * 2022: Annabelle Tan (

Bartlett School of Architecture The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, also known as The Bartlett, is the academic centre for the study of the built environment at University College London (UCL), United Kingdom. It is home to thirteen departments, with specialisms incl ...

, UK) * 2021: Tiia Partanen (

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

, UK) * 2020: Robert Beeny (

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

, UK) * 2019: Victoria King (

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, Australia) * 2018: Sonia Magdziarz (

, UK) * 2017: Daniel Hall (

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

, USA) * 2016: Thomas Chee (

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

, Hong Kong) * 2015: Finn Wilkie ( Mackintosh School of Architecture, UK) * 2014: Nick Elias (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 2013: Ben Hayes (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 2012: SunBloc (

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London and London Guildhall University merged in 2002 to create the university. The Un ...

, UK) * 2011: Kibwe Tavares (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 2010: Jonathan Schofield (

, UK) * 2009: Nicholas Szczepaniak (University of Westminster, UK) * 2008: James Tait (

, UK) * 2007: Steve Westcott (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 2006: Gillian Lambert (University of Westminster, UK) * 2005: Yew Choong Chan (University of Westminster, UK) * 2004: Hani Fallaha (Architectural Association, UK) * 2003: Artur Ferreira Viveiros (London Metropolitan University, UK) * 2002: Kristina Lundvall (London Metropolitan University, UK) * 2001: Alexis Kyriakides (University of Westminster, UK) * 2000: Ole Scheeren & Henrik Rothe (Architectural Association, UK) ''tie winner'' * 2000: Takuya Onishi (Architectural Association, UK) ''tie winner'' * 1999: Julia Von Rohr (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 1998: Matthew Springett (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 1997: ''The judges did not feel able to award the Silver Medal this year and awarded 2 joint runners up including Mehrnoosh Khadivi from The University of North London (UNL) now

'' * 1996: Stephen Wilby (

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

, UK) * 1995: Tim Sloan (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 1994: Abigail Ashton, Andrew Porter, and Tony Smart (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) ''joint entry'' * 1993: Marina Georgiou (

University of North London The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...

, UK) * 1992: Harvinder Gabhari (

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

, UK) * 1991: Aaron Davies and Chris Thurlbourne (University of East London, UK) ''joint entry'' * 1990: Toru Ogata (Architectural Association, UK) * 1989: Jonathan Hale (

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

, UK) * 1988: Sean Affleck (

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

, UK) * 1987: Mouzhan Majidi & Joseph Logan & Mark Hawker (

, UK) * 1986: John Moran (University of Sheffield, UK) * 1959: Norman Foster (

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, UK) * 1836: George Godwin Bronze Medal: * 2024: Victor Williams Salmeron (University of Kent, UK) * 2023: Kacper Sehnke (University of Westminster, UK) * 2022: Mary Holmes (University of Cambridge, UK) * 2021: Ben Foulkes (Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, UK) * 2020: Tengku Sharil Bin Tengku Abdul Kadir (Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, UK) * 2019: Annabelle Tan (Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, UK) * 2018: Justin Bean (University of Bath, UK) * 2017: Kangli Zheng (

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

, UK) * 2016: Allan Chong (

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

, UK) * 2015: Boon Yik Chung (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 2014: Simon Dean (

Kingston University Kingston University London is a Public university, public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South London, South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded ...

, UK) * 2013: Ness Lafoy (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 2012: Vidhya Pushpanathan (Architectural Association, UK) * 2011: Basmah Kaki (Architectural Association, UK) * 2010: Jack Hudspith (Mackintosh School of Architecture, UK) * 2009: Wen Ying Teh (Architectural Association, UK) * 2008: Wynne Leung & Francesco Matteo Belfiore (

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along wi ...

, UK) ''joint entry'' * 2007: Amandine Kastler (Architectural Association, UK) * 2006: Brian Macken (Mackintosh School of Architecture, UK) * 2005: Luke Pearson (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 2004: Ulla Tervo (London Metropolitan University, UK) * 2003: Daniel Coll i Capdevila (Architectural Association, UK) * 2002: Tom Holberton (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 2001: Andrew Yek (

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

, UK) * 2000: Jordi Pages Ramon (Architectural Association, UK) ''tie winner'' * 2000: Bing Huang Ler (

University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University. The university offers degree program ...

) ''tie winner'' * 1999: Sonja Stoffels (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 1998: Romed Perfler (University of North London, UK) * 1997: Mathis Osterhage (University of North London, UK) * 1996: Yutaka Yano (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 1995: Simon Aldridge (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 1994: Brian O'Reilly (

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

, UK) * 1993: Guy Dickinson (University of Greenwich, UK) * 1992: Stephen Hoey (Mackintosh School of Architecture, UK) * 1991: Chinedu Umenyilora (Architectural Association, UK) * 1990:

(London South Bank University, UK) * 1989: Daniel Burr (

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992. T ...

, UK) * 1988: Gavin Henderson (

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, UK) * 1987: Andrew Tyley (University of Bath, UK) * 1980: Simon Hudspith (Newcastle University, UK) Dissertation Medal: * 2024: Bianca Zucchelli (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 2023: Chloe Shang (Royal College of Art, UK) * 2022: Annabelle Tan (

, UK) * 2021: Richard Adetokunbo Aina (Architectural Association, UK) * 2020: Lizzie Osborne (University of Huddersfied, UK) * 2019: Naomi Rubbra (The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, UK) * 2019: Ruth Pearn (University of Westminster, UK) * 2018: Rosemary Milne (

Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture The Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA) is part of Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The school was ranked 5th in the UK in the 2013 Guardian University Guide and 4th in the Com ...

, UK) * 2017: Rhiain Bower (University of Westminster, UK) * 2016: Roy Khatchadourian (

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

, UK) * 2015: Marie Price (University of Westminster, UK) * 2014: Jasper Ludewig (

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, Australia) * 2013: Tamsin Hanke (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 2012: Mathew Leung (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 2011: Hannah Robertson (

, UK) * 2010: Clare Richards (University of Westminster, UK) * 2009: Rebecca Gregory (University of Westminster, UK) * 2008: Dominic Severs (University of Westminster, UK) * 2007: Joanna Rapp (University of Westminster, UK) * 2006: Timothy O'Callaghan (University of Westminster, UK) * 2005: Jess Hrivnak (University of Cambridge, UK) * 2004: Olivia Gordon (Bartlett School of Architecture, UK) * 2003: Kevin Donovan (

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

, Ireland) * 2002: Tim Fleetwood (

Curtin University Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public university, public research university based in Bentley, Western Australia, Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. ...

, Australia) * 2001: Gwyn Lloyd Jones (Oxford Brookes University, UK)Travels with Frank Lloyd Wright
Google Books. Retrieved: 3 October 2019. * 1896: Banister Fletcher (University College London, UK) * 1862:

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

(King's College London, UK)

References

{{reflist

External links

President's Medals site
British architecture awards Awards established in 1984 Royal Institute of British Architects