Professor Yasmeen Lari, the architect who scooped the RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2023, one of her field’s most prestigious honours, has been honoured with a celebratory dinner this week in London. Lari, who was announced as the award recipient about a month ago, is globally respected for her ongoing work on zero-carbon self-build concepts for displaced populations.
The accolade, which was personally approved by His Majesty The King, recognises outstanding contribution to the architecture profession worldwide. Past Royal Gold Medallists include Balkrishna Doshi (2022), Sir David Adjaye OBE (2021), Dame Zaha Hadid (2016), Frank Gehry (2000), Lord Norman Foster (1983), Frank Lloyd Wright (1941) and Sir George Gilbert Scott (1859).
Yasmeen Lari: RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2023
Lari's work and professional trajectory are remarkable. The first registered female architect in her home country of Pakistan, she studied in the UK before going back to work in Karachi in 1964, establishing her studio, Lari Associates. She went on to develop a range of contemporary buildings, from single-family houses (including her own) to large-scale schemes that define the country’s urban landscape to this day. Examples include several government, business, and financial institutions, such as the Pakistan State Oil headquarters.
The architect retired, before returning to practice in 2000, focusing her efforts on sustainability and housing in the realm of humanitarian work. The Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, which Lari co-founded with her husband, Suhail Zaheer Lari, in 1980, is a pioneer in designing housing for disaster relief, creating some 50,000, mostly self-build, dwellings.
'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 marginalised people – venturing down uncharted vagabond pathways – I could still be considered for the highest of honours in the architectural profession,' said Lari, when she heard the news about the RIBA Gold Medal 2023.
‘RIBA has 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.’
Part W, the action group championing gender equity in the built environment, were heavily involved in Lari's nomination for the 2023 award – with Alisha Morenike Fisher from Migrant’s Bureau writing the documentation, and Hilary Satchwell, founding member of Part W putting it forward. Their contribution was part of their The Alternative List campaign, striving for ‘greater recognition of the contribution of women to the field of architecture.’
‘As one of my mentors since 2018 and one of the reasons environmental needs have been at the forefront of how I hope to design, Yasmeen Lari continues to inspire, advocate and design for our changing climates and land. It has been a privilege from day one to learn from Lari, her work through barefoot social architecture and I hope more recognition for her work enables further attention of what is currently happening with housing issues, displacement and natural disasters in Pakistan,’ says Fisher.
‘It was an honour to chair the committee that selected Yasmeen Lari. An inspirational figure, she moved from a large practice centred on the needs of international clients to focussing solely on humanitarian causes. Lari’s mission during her “second” career has empowered the people of Pakistan through architecture, engaging users in design and production. She has shown us how architecture changes lives for the better,' stated RIBA president Simon Allford, when the award was announced.
‘Lari’s work in championing zero carbon and zero waste construction is exemplary. She has reacted imaginatively and creatively making affordable projects that address the real and often urgent need for accommodation, and basic services, but with generosity and an eye for the potential of everyday materials and crafts to make architecture at all scales. Her way of working also sets out to address the physical and psychological damage caused by major natural disasters – disaster that sadly inevitably will be ever more prevalent in our densely populated and climate challenged planet.'
