The 2023 Royal Gold Medal Recipient Is the Acclaimed Yasmeen Lari

Professor Yasmeen Lari, the first female architect in Pakistan, has been named the recipient of the 2023 Royal Gold Medal in Architecture by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Yasmeen Lari’s work advocating for low-carbon self-construction solutions for displaced communities has been recognized with one of the most distinguished architectural awards.

In June of 2023, Yasmeen Lari will formally receive the Royal Gold Medal. The Royal Gold Medal is awarded posthumously to an individual or group who has made a significant contribution to the development of architecture, and it requires the personal approval of the Monarch to be bestowed.

©Al Jazeera

Yasmeen exclaimed, “I was so surprised to hear this news and of course totally thrilled!” upon knowing that she will be awarded the 2023 Royal Gold Medal later this year. “I never thought I’d be recognized for the highest prizes in architecture while also focusing on the most underserved members of my country and following unexplored nomadic paths.”

The 2023 Royal Gold Medal

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Award Committee have signaled a shift in the industry’s priorities, calling architects’ attention to shift from the privileged few suffering from inequalities, wars, and global warming. There are countless openings to advance environmental durability, sustainability, and eco-justice through the use of circular economy, depopulation, transition design, eco-urbanism, and what the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) calls Barefoot Social Architecture (BASA).

Bamboo Women’s Centre, Sindh Province. ©Heritage Foundation of Pakistan

Yasmeen is a well-known architect who advocates for women’s rights and climate change mitigation. She helped establish the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan and is the country’s first female architect. Yasmeen founded Barefoot Social Architecture (BASA), an approach to design that prioritizes social and environmental equality by employing methods that rely on heritage while being gentle on the globe.

She has also helped many communities recover from disasters and become self-sufficient, especially among women, by teaching them how to use inexpensive, participative, and disaster-resilient approaches.

Also Read: 10 Remarkable Architecture Projects Designed by Women.

INTBAU Centre, Makli. ©Heritage Foundation of Pakistan

Zero Carbon Cultural Centre, 2015-2019. ©Heritage Foundation of Pakistan.

More About The 2023 Royal Gold Medal Recipient

Yasmeen earned her degree in architecture from Oxford Brookes in 1963 and was accepted into the RIBA the following year. She has held the positions of President of the Institute of Architects Pakistan (1978), Chair of the Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP) (1983), and Founding Chair of INTBAU Pakistan (2018 ).

Lari retired in 2000 to devote herself to historic preservation and purely humanitarian architecture after having led the design of some of the country’s most recognizable buildings at her eponymous firm. She has restored buildings from the 19th century in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar, including the British Colonial structures at Makli and the Lahore Fort (both World Heritage sites). She is among the 60 women recognized for their significant contributions to UNESCO’s objectives.

Lahore Fort. ©Wikiland

RIBA President Simon Allford said, “It was a privilege to serve as chair of the 2023 Royal Gold Medal committee that chose Yasmeen Lari. She’s a beacon of light because she left a successful firm with foreign clients. to devote herself entirely to humanitarian endeavors. In her second career, Lari sought to use architecture to promote social change in Pakistan by including its inhabitants in the creative processes of design and manufacturing. She has demonstrated the positive impact that architecture can have on people’s lives.”

Angoori Bagh Social Housing, Lahore-1973. ©Heritage Foundation of Pakistan.

Mud Brick One Room House, Moak Sharif, Tando Allahyar, Sindh–2011. ©Heritage Foundation of Pakistan.

Lari’s efforts to promote carbon-neutral and waste-free building practices are commendable. She has responded to the dire demand for housing and other basic amenities by designing inventive, cost-effective projects that tap into the possibilities of commonplace materials and handiwork. Her procedures also seek to repair the emotional and mental scars of natural disasters, which are only expected to become more common in our increasingly crowded and environment-challenged world.

Zero Carbon Cultural Centre, 2015-2019. ©Heritage Foundation of Pakistan.

Zero Carbon Cultural Centre, 2015-2019. ©Heritage Foundation of Pakistan.

RIBA’s current focus, as evidenced by the 2023 Royal Gold Medal recipient, is on inspiring architects to consider the needs of all people, not just the affluent few.

Balkrishna Doshi (2022) was honored for his innovative urban planning and affordable housing initiatives that fused modernism and Indian vernacular; Sir David Adjaye (2021) was honored for his revolutionary and global initiatives that encompassed everything from private dwellings, pavillions, and furniture designs to significant social structures and city masterplans, and undoubtedly the dame Zaha Hadid (2016) were all previous recipients of the Royal Gold Medal.