By Eleanor Finlay
Acclaimed Pakistani architect Yasmeen Lari was awarded this year’s Royal Gold Medal, the UK’s highest honour for architecture.
Yasmeen Lari is a champion of women’s rights and a proponent of zero carbon footprint. She is Pakistan’s first female architect, establishing Barefoot Social Architecture (BASA) to empower marginalized sections of society using methodologies that draw upon tradition and tread lightly on the planet. By providing training in low-tech, participatory, and disaster-resilient methods, she has enabled a large number of disaster-affected communities, particularly women, to become self-reliant.
Given in recognition of a lifetime’s work, the Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by the Monarch and is given to a person or group of people who have had a significant influence either directly or indirectly on the advancement of architecture.
Awarded since 1848, past Royal Gold Medallists include Sir David Adjaye OBE (2021), Grafton Architects (2020), Sir Nicholas Grimshaw (2019), Neave Brown (2018), Dame Zaha Hadid (2016), Frank Gehry (2000), Sir Norman Foster (1983), Frank Lloyd Wright (1941) and Sir George Gilbert Scott (1859).
This year’s recipient, Yasmeen Lari said: “I was so surprised to hear this news and of course totally delighted! I never imagined that as I focus on my country’s most marginalized people — venturing down uncharted vagabond pathways — I could still be considered for the highest of honours in the architectural profession.
“RIBA and the Award Committee have heralded a new direction for the profession, encouraging all architects to focus not only on the privileged but also humanity at large that suffers from disparities, conflicts and climate change. There are innumerable opportunities to implement principles of circular economy, de-growth, transition design, eco urbanism, and what we call Barefoot Social Architecture (BASA) to achieve climate resilience, sustainability and eco justice in the world.”
