David Adjaye named as 2021 Royal Gold Medal laureate

RIBA announced this morning that London-based architect David Adjaye has been selected to receive the UK’s highest recognition for architecture, the Royal Gold Medal.

"It’s incredibly humbling and a great honor to have my peers recognize the work I have developed with my team and its contribution to the field over the past 25 years," Adjaye responded to the news. 

"Architecture, for me, has always been about the creation of beauty to edify all peoples around the world equally and to contribute to the evolution of the craft. The social impact of this discipline has been and will continue to be the guiding force in the experimentation that informs my practice. A heartfelt and sincere moment of gratitude and thanks to all the people who supported the journey to get to this moment."

The list of previous RIBA Royal Gold Medal recipients includes Grafton Architects, Nicholas Grimshaw, Neave Brown, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Zaha Hadid, Sheila O'Donnell + John Tuomey, Joseph Rykwert, Peter Zumthor, Herman Hertzberger, and David Chipperfield, to name a few.