Pritzker laureate Rafael Moneo wins inaugural Soane Medal, will give first Soane Annual Lecture in November

Sir John Soane’s Museum in London announced Spanish architect Rafael Moneo as the inaugural presenter of the Soane Annual Lecture, as well as being the first Soane Medal recipient for contribution to architecture. The new lecture and medal recognize the likes of architects, artists, and writers whose work has “broadened and enriched the understandings of architecture”. In identifying and addressing common issues, the lecture aims to encourage better public understanding of the influence of architecture in the past, present, and future.

As the headlining event of the Museum's public programming starting in September, the Soane Annual Lecture will take place on November 1 at the Royal Institution on Albemarle Street, where Soane himself has lectured.

The Museum is recognizing Moneo, who won the 1996 Pritzker Prize, for his longtime devotion to architectural teaching, writing, and practice. “Moneo’s career has embodied the idea of architecture as something that resides not just in the structure and the materials of a building, but in time and place, word and image, people and community,” the Museum stated in a release. Among his many projects in his native Spain, Moneo's most famous works include the National Museum of Art in Merida, the extension of the Prado Museum in Madrid, and the City Hall in Murcia. Some of his notable U.S. projects include the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, the Audrey Jones Beck Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

“We are delighted to announce this new Soane Annual Lecture and Medal, and look forward to the significant voices and ideas it will bring to the museum,” said David Chipperfield, Trustee of Sir John Soane’s Museum. “Our aim is to promote architectural culture, as Soane himself worked so tirelessly to do, and we hope it will become an important event in the London calendar.”

More event info here.