2020 RIBA Annie Spink Award presented to Lesley Lokko

The Annie Spink Award has been given to individuals who have made continuous efforts and contributions to architectural academia. This year the prestigious biennial prize has been awarded to the multi-talented architect and academic advocate Lesley Lokko. Not only has Lokko's work as a practitioner received praise she is also a best-selling novelist and long-time architectural educator. 

The Scottish-Ghanina architect shares in a statement, "I am deeply humbled by the jury's decision. This award is for everyone who came out in support of the Black Lives Matter protests, which put such difficult and challenging questions on the table for us all. It is also dedicated to the teachers and students at the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg, whose tenacity and inventiveness have charted a new path for architectural education. Together with the profound intellectual generosity I experienced as a student at the Bartlett School of Architecture in the 1990s, they remain crucial touchstones in my teaching practice, now and in whatever comes next."

RIBA President Alan Jones shares, “Congratulations to Professor Lesley Lokko, the deserving winner of our 2020 Annie Spink Award. Lesley’s impressive career in architectural education has spanned decades, and she has established herself as an internationally renowned educator. Lesley has demonstrated impactful leadership, passion and an unwavering commitment to architectural education and research, and lectured and published widely on the subjects of race, identity and architecture. I am delighted to present Professor Lesley Lokko with this accolade.”

Past award recepients include:

• 2018: Murray Fraser
• 2016: Christine Hawley
• 2014: Florian Beigel
• 2012: Nigel Coates
• 2010: Dean Hawkes
• 2008: Andrew MacMillan and Isi Metzstein (joint award)
• 2006: Dalibor Vesely
• 2004: Peter Salter and Wolf Prix (shared award)
• 2002: Peter Cook and David Greene (joint award)
• 2000: Elia Zenghelis

To learn more about the Annie Spink Award click here.