RIBA to open SANAA's two-city Royal Gold Medal exhibition May 2nd

The planned overhaul of the RIBA headquarters at 66 Portland Place in London isn't stopping a packed slate of spring exhibitions and public programs that’s set to kick off soon with a look at this year’s Royal Gold Medalists, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA.

Before it closes for the £85 million ($112 million USD) House of Architecture renovation project on May 31st, the Practice Space at 66 Portland Place will host a display of their work featuring ten select projects photographed by Iwan Baan.

The exhibition opens on May 2nd in both London and at the Tate Liverpool, where it is sponsored by RIBA North. A special screening of filmmakers Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine's 2020 documentary Tokyo Ride (featuring Sejima's narration) is also being staged in London on May 20th. (You can register for that event here.)

"We have always believed that architecture can transform and repair environments, helping us to relate to our surroundings, nature, and each other. Architecture is always teamwork, and we are very grateful to everyone that has given us opportunities to develop these ideas over the years, and to all those people that have worked tirelessly with us to realize them," Sejima and Nishizawa said in the Royal Gold Medal announcement back in February.

SANAA also won the 2025 Le Prix Charlotte Perriand Award. The Royal Institute of British Architects expects the Benedetti Architects-led House of Architecture renovations to be completed in 2028.