Nominations are now open for the 2020 UIA Gold Medal and Prizes! Awarded to recognise achievements of international consequence, the UIA Gold Medal and Prizes will be conferred at the Awards Ceremony this year in Rio de Janeiro during the 2020 UIA World Congress in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) on 19 to 23 July 2020.

The UIA Gold Medal

Created in 1984, the UIA Gold Medal recognises outstanding architectural achievement by an architect or group of architects, taking into account all aspects of a body of work constructed over an extended period. Past winners include Toyo Ito, Renzo Piano, I.M. Pei, Àlvaro Siza Vieira, Hassan Fathy and Rafael Moneo.

The UIA also awards the following five prizes:

The Patrick Abercrombie Prize For Urban Planning And Design

Named after the first UIA President, Sir Patrick Abercrombie, known for his role in the post-war reconstruction of Great Britain, the UIA’s Abercrombie Prize has recognised exemplary works of urban and regional planning and design since it was first awarded in 1961. Past winners include Edmund N. Bacon, Jan Gehl, Nuno Portas, Sir Peter Hall and Mahmoud Yousry Hassan.

The Auguste Perret Prize For Technology In Architecture

Named after Honorary UIA President Auguste Perret, renowned for his pioneering use of reinforced concrete and attributed triennially since 1961, the Auguste Perret Prize rewards a body of work by a living architect characterised by technological excellence. Past winners have included Thomas Herzog, Shigeru Ban, Sir Norman Foster and Françoise Hélène Jourda.

The Jean Tschumi Prize For Architectural Writing

Named after former UIA President and member of the Modern Movement, the Jean Tschumi Prize recognises excellence in architectural criticism and writing since it was first awarded in 1967. Past winners include Reyner Banham, Peter Cook, Liangyong Wu, Juhani Pallasmaa, Kenneth Frampton, Louise Noelle Gras, Joseph Rykwert and Ashraf Salama.

The Robert Matthew Prize For Sustainable & Humane Environments

Named after Past President of the UIA Robert Matthew and attributed since 1978, the prize embodies the goals of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). It has recognized individuals and groups, including Hassan Fathy, Stefan Foster, Giancarlo de Carlo, Carin Smuts and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

The Vassilis Sgoutas Prize For Implemented Architecture Serving The Impoverished

Founded in honour of UIA Past President Vassilis Sgoutas and attributed since 2008, the prize recognises ingenious and implemented architectural solutions serving the impoverished. Past winners include Arquitectos sin Fronteras, Architectes de l’Urgence, Paul Pholeros, Fabrizio Carola, Carlos Gonzalez Lobo and Huang Thuc Hao.

Eligibility

Nominees for the UIA Gold Medal and the UIA Prizes may include any living architect, firm or collective entities comprising architects. The achievements of a firm or group must represent collaborative efforts over an extended period, with the same individuals as leaders of the group. Except in the case of the Jean Tschumi Prize, nominees must be professionally qualified architects or, in the case of group (team) submissions, headed by a professionally qualified architect.

Nominations

UIA Member Sections and UIA elected officials may nominate candidates of any nationality or place of residence. UIA Member Sections or elected UIA officials may submit up to three nominations, from different countries or all from the same country, for each prize. Nominations must conform to these regulations and the schedule published by the UIA Secretariat.

Submissions

Member Sections and elected UIA officials may submit nominations for the Gold Medal and Prizes only in digital form, using the UIA Awards Platform. Nominations should include:

• A brief curriculum vitae for the candidate
• A photograph of the candidate (up to 5 MB)
• A statement from the nominating body or individual explaining the reasons for the nomination for a particular UIA Prize
• A summary of the candidate’s work including a maximum of 10 photographs (maximum 5MB each) of the candidate’s work. In the case of the Jean Tschumi Prize, photographs can be replaced by scanned images of selected writings).

The UIA can accept materials only via the on-line platform above, in any of the following formats: .docx, .pdf, .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .tif, .tiff, or .eps. The UIA cannot accept materials in other formats, or materials submitted by e-mail, post or courier. Nomination materials must be in one of the two UIA working languages, French or English.

Deadlines

1 May 2020: Deadline for nominations

12 May 2020: Jury Meeting at UIA headquarters in Paris

19-23 July 2020: UIA RIO CONGRESS

22 July 2020: Awards Ceremony

Jury

Kai-Uwe Bergmann (Denmark)
Nadia Somekh (Brazil)
Eva Jiricna (Czech Republic)
Weimin Zhuang (China)
Thomas Vonier (USA)

If the jury determines that no nominee is suitably qualified for an award, it may elect not to make an award. Contact information: [email protected]. 

Top image courtesy of UIA

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