Architectural patron Jane Priestman wins inaugural Ada Louise Huxtable Prize

The Architects' Journal reported today that architectural patron and "visionary" client Jane Priestman was awarded the inaugural Ada Louise Huxtable Prize. Launched earlier this year, the lifetime achievement award recognizes non-architects who have contributed greatly to the architectural profession and are also regarded as having a lasting influence in the field.

Priestman will be presented with the prize during the AJ Women in Architecture Luncheon on February 27.

Now in her mid 80s, Priestman's extensive portfolio consists of over 2,800 stations. Some notable projects Priestman was involved in include the Stansted airport terminal (picture, which she commissioned Norman Foster in 1981 to design when she was British Airports Authoriy design manager -- a position she held from 1975-86. During the late 1980s, Priestman then served as the British Railways director of architecture, design and environment for five years. She also commissioned Grimshaw Architects for the Waterloo International Station in 1989.

Other milestones in Priestman's career also include becoming a RIBA honorary fellow in 1985 as well as a member of the London Regional Transport Design Panel from 1985-88. After she worked in the Design Council from 1996-2000, she took on her first role as an enabler for the Commission for Architecture & the Built Environment in the following year.