The Architectural League of New York awarded His Highness the Aga Khan with their 2017 President’s Medal - the President’s Medal is presented as The Architectural League’s highest honor and is bestowed annually, at the discretion of the League’s President and Board of Directors, on individuals to recognize an extraordinary body of work in architecture, urbanism, art, or design.

The President of Architectural League Billie Tsien will present this prestigious accolade to the honorable Aga Khan during a dinner on May 18 in New York. The 2017 President’s Medal is given on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Aga Khan Award in Architecture, which celebrates achievements in architecture and urbanism that serve an Islamic population anywhere in the world; spotlights issues of sustainability, quality of life, local craft and building traditions; and helps to preserve and develop public spaces, buildings, and landscapes of great cultural and civic importance.

Hutong Children’s Library and Art Centre, Beijing, China by ZAO / standardarchitecture / Zhang Ke. Image © AKTC / Su Shengliang, ZAO, standardarchitecture

"A commitment to pluralism suffuses the work of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, along with other programs of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and Aga Khan Development Network, of which it is a part," stated The Architectural League of New York.

"Pluralism," the Aga Khan has said, "results when people decide to value and understand human differences through mutual respect and civic inclusion." He has written that "In the troubled times in which we live, it is important to remember, and honor, a vision of a pluralistic society." 

"Tolerance, openness and understanding towards other peoples’ cultures, social structures, values and faiths are now essential to the very survival of an interdependent world. Pluralism is no longer simply an asset or a prerequisite for progress and development, it is vital to our existence," added Aga Khan.

Friendship Centre, Gaibandha, Bangladesh by Kashef Chowdhury / URBANA. Located in rural Gaibandha where agriculture is predominant, the project's roofscape merges with its environment. Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Image © Rajesh Vora

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977 to identify architectural projects that successfully address the needs and aspirations of communities in which Muslims have a significant presence. Winners of the most recent 13th triennial Award Cycle were announced in 2016 and include a community center in rural Bangladesh that interprets local building traditions and materials to respond to an environmentally sensitive site; a public space in Copenhagen promoting integration across lines of ethnicity, religion, and culture; and a bridge in Tehran that connects two parks separated by a highway and has itself become a much treasured urban space.

Tabiat Pedestrian Bridge, Tehran, Iran by Diba Tensile Architecture / Leila Araghian, Alireza Behzadi. The project espouses the topography of the sloppy site. The hills and their curves oscillate the structures and surfaces of the bridge and transmit their topographic lines to the other park on the other side. Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Image © Barzin Baharlouie

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture evaluates works of architecture, landscape design, and urbanism using a comprehensive set of criteria that recognizes design’s potential to foster a sense of belonging within culturally pluralistic communities worldwide while simultaneously elevating quality of life and addressing issues of environmental sustainability. The award’s comprehensive and considered deliberation process makes it one of the most respected and coveted awards in architecture.

Previous recipients of The Architectural League’s President’s Medal include Michael R. Bloomberg, Henry N. Cobb, Richard Serra, Renzo Piano, Amanda M. Burden, Massimo and Lella Vignelli, Hugh Hardy, Richard Meier, Ada Louise Huxtable, Robert A.M. Stern, Kenneth Frampton, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, and Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown.

Top image: His Highness the Aga Khan speaking at the Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2016 ceremony AKDN. Image © Mairaj Manji

> via The Architectural League of New York