The Architectural Review and The Architects’ Journal have announced winners for the 2022 W Awards, formerly known as the Women in Architecture awards. 

British-Iranian architect, educator and writer Farshid Moussavi, founder of London-based architecture practice Farshid Moussavi Architecture, has been awarded the Jane Drew Prize for Architecture 2022, while British-Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum has been awarded the Ada Louise Huxtable Prize for Contribution to Architecture 2022.

In partnership with both The Architectural Review and the Architects’ Journal, the W Awards are presented as a celebration of talent and ambition, of leadership and outstanding architecture.

The annual Jane Drew Prize for Architecture is awarded to "an architectural designer who, through their work and commitment to design excellence, has raised the profile of women in architecture."

The annual Ada Louise Huxtable Prize for Contribution to Architecture is awarded to "individuals working in the wider architectural industry who have made a significant contribution to architecture and the built environment."

Ismaili Center Houston, designed by Farshid Moussavi, is expected to be completed in 2024. Image courtesy of FMA

"It is a very great honour for me to receive the Jane Drew Prize, which has done so much to draw attention to the achievements of women in the field of architecture," said Farshid Moussavi related to her recognition. 

"There are relatively few role models for women in architectural practice and I believe that this allows them freedom to be more creative in responding to the urgent challenges facing architects today, whether these challenges are finding new and more generous uses for buildings, as well as new languages in which to engage a larger and more diverse public, or addressing climate change to protect future generations."

Farshid Moussavi is a Honorary Member of World Architecture Community since 2008. She was a co-founder of Foreign Office Architects, known for the Yokohama International Ferry Terminal which opened in 2002. In 2011, Moussavi founded Farshid Moussavi Architecture (FMA) in London.  

The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, a curvaceous La Folie Divine tower in Montpellier, a multi-tenure residential complex in the La Défense district of Paris, flagship stores for Victoria Beckham in London and Hong Kong are among significant projects of FMA. 

FMA is currently working on the Ismaili Center Houston, which is expected to be completed in 2024.

Mona Hatoum-designed Light Sentence, Mona Hatoum, 1992. Image © Mona Hatoum / Locus+ Archive Cardiff / Edward Woodman

The British-Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum has been awarded the Ada Louise Huxtable Prize for Contribution to Architecture 2022, recognizing "individuals working in the wider architectural industry who have made a significant contribution to architecture and the built environment."

She was born in Beirut and lived in London since 1975. Her works comprise a wide range of architectural scales, ranging from installations, sculptures, video, photography and works on paper, tacking the topics from the current global condition, also touching upon systems of confinement, the architecture of surveillance and themes of conflict and displacement. 

The cage-like structures of "Light Sentence" from 1992, the installation of Recollection from 1995, which consists of "a table-shaped loom used to weave human hair," the metal bunks of Quarters from 1996, "recalling institutional and highly regulated sleeping quarters such as military bunkers and prison cells, are among her key works. 

Hatoum was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1995 and Hepworth Prize for Sculpture in 2018.

"In a world fractured by conflict and exile, the work of Mona Hatoum only gains further relevance and importance. Turning familiar objects into uncanny experiences, she makes visible human fragility and spatial violence," said Architectural Review editor Manon Mollard.

Climate Inheritance designed by Rania Ghosn from Design Earth, Moira Gemmill Prize 2022 shortlist candidate. Image © Design Earth

Besides the Jane Drew and Ada Louise Huxtable prizes, The Architectural Review and The Architects’ Journal have announced the shortlists for the Moira Gemmill and MJ Long Prizes.

The Moira Gemmill Prize shortlist comprises:

• Ana Baptista, co-founder of Colectivo Mel, based in Portugal
• Rania Ghosn, founding partner of Design Earth, based in the United States
• Swati Janu, founder of Social Design Collaborative, based in India
• Sumayya Vally, principal of Counterspace, based in South Africa

The National Youth Theatre, London, designed by Anne Wynne of DSDHA, a candidate for the MJ Long Prize for Excellence in Practice 2022. Image © Jim Stephenson

The MJ Long Prize for Excellence in Practice 2022 shortlist comprises:

• Sophie Mitchell of Nissen Richards Studio, for Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, UK
• Fiona Monkman of Islington Architects, for Centurion Close, London, UK
• Hannah Stringer of AOC, for the National Archives, London, UK
• Anne Wynne of DSDHA, for the National Youth Theatre, London, UK

"The projects on this year’s shortlist include high-quality council housing, the sensitive redevelopment of a brutalist archive, a beautifully judged rework of the visitor experience at an archaeological site and the inventive reorganization and new public face for a youth theatre. The projects shortlisted are both innovative and inspiring, and truly set a precedent for the future of our industry," said Architect’s Journal deputy architecture editor Frances Williams.

On Tuesday, 3 May 2022, Farshid Moussavi and Mona Hatoum will give a talk at the W Lunch at the Brewery in London, where the winners of the Moira Gemmill Prize and MJ Long Prize will also be announced.

In 2021, British architect Kate Macintosh has been awarded the Jane Drew Prize for Architecture 2021 and Ghanaian-Scottish architect, academic, and novelist, Professor Lesley Lokko has been awarded the Ada Louise Huxtable Prize for Contribution to Architecture 2021.

Top image (from left to right): Farshid Moussavi © Paul Phung, Mona Hatoum © The Japan Art Association - The Sankei Shimbu.

> via The Architectural Review and The Architects’ Journal