SANAA to receive 2025 Royal Gold Medal for architecture, RIBA architect honours news

SANAA to receive 2025 Royal Gold Medal for architecture news

6 February 2025

Kazuyo Sejima (left) and Ryue Nishizawa 2 (right) © Aiko Suzuki

Photos © SANAA, Alain Herzog, Iwan Baan, Dean Kaufman and Aiko Suzuki

SANAA 2025 Gold Medal for Architecture Winner

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced that SANAA, the collaborative practice of Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, will receive the 2025 Royal Gold Medal for architecture. One of the world’s highest honours in architecture – presented on behalf of His Majesty the King – the medal recognises SANAA’s work to reshape the global design landscape, creating spaces that bring simplicity, light and elegance to the fore.

Sydney Modern Project, Australia – photo © Iwan Baan

For nearly three decades, SANAA’s work has pioneered sustainable, user-centred design and was praised by the 2025 RIBA Honours Committee for shaping “a universal language of architecture that resonates with people everywhere.” Balancing boldness with sensitivity to the local environment, their works “demonstrate that architecture can be both functional and profoundly elegant, offering a sense of calm amidst an increasingly complex and chaotic world.”

New Museum, USA – photo © Dean Kaufman

Prioritising inclusivity and accessibility, SANAA’s hallmark is a deep commitment to creating places that bring people together and inspire collaboration. Their distinctive use of light lends their spaces an ethereal quality, where transparency and materiality often interplay seamlessly to create environments that connect users to the architecture and surrounding landscape.

Bocconi University, Italy – photo © SANAA

With projects stretching across the globe, their designs embody an incredible dedication to their surroundings and local context. From the striking New Museum that rises boldly over the bustling streets of New York City, to the quietly flowing low rise Rolex Learning Centre that ‘flows’ alongside the shores of Lake Geneva in Lausanne, SANAA’s designs reflect a profound sensitivity to place.
Often presenting a simple, minimalistic facade, their projects disguise the quiet complexity of their interiors, a testament to the deep rigour behind Sejima and Nishizawa’s work. This balance of simplicity and depth defines their architectural approach.

Grace Farms, USA – photo © Iwan Baan

Other notable works over the course of their career include, the Dior Omotesando Store, Japan (2003); 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan (2004); Zollverein School of Design, Germany (2006); Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, UK (2009); Louvre-Lens in France (2012); Grace Farms, USA (2015); and Sydney Modern, Australia (2022).

Samaritaine, France – photo © SANAA

On hearing the news, SANAA said:
“We are delighted and very honoured to receive the Royal Gold Medal. We have always believed that architecture can transform and repair environments, helping us to relate to our surroundings, nature and each other. Throughout our careers we have tried to make spaces that bring people together, inviting them to imagine new ways of living and learning collectively.  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 realise them. This is a very happy moment for us, thank you.”

RIBA President and Chair of the 2025 RIBA Honours Committee, Muyiwa Oki said:
“Exemplifying an unassuming yet impactful leadership in the evolving practice and theory of architecture, SANAA’s designs demonstrate that architecture can balance functionality with profound elegance. True pioneers in the field, their unwavering commitment to sustainable, user-centred design has quietly blazed a trail for others, setting an inspiring standard for the future of our built environment.

Louvre-Lens, France – photo © SANAA

Showing remarkable clarity and consistency over the decades, their work serves as a lasting testament to the transformative power of architecture – to inspire joy, create a sense of belonging, and connect us to the environments we inhabit.”
A public celebration will take place celebrating SANAA in London on 1 May 2025.

New Kagawa Sports Arena, Japan – photo © SANAA

The 2025 RIBA Honours Committee was chaired by RIBA President Muyiwa Oki and comprised of 2024 Royal Gold Medal recipient Lesley Lokko, architect and founder of BIG, Bjarke Ingels, and architect and co-founding director of dRMM, Sadie Morgan OBE.

Citation by the 2025 RIBA Honours Committee:
Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates (SANAA) is the established collaborative practice of Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. Spanning nearly three decades, their work has become a standard for creating meaningful, culturally insightful, and elegant architectural designs.

Their work has reshaped the global design landscape, producing works that bring simplicity, light and elegance to the fore, establishing themselves as leaders in architecture’s global discourse. The projects bring spaces to life with a simplicity that resonates deeply across cultures and generations.

SANAA’s extraordinary talent comes from the unusual nature of their practice. One which oscillates between the two partners as individual practitioners, but whose many collaborations always produce interesting and remarkable results.

Tsuruoka, Japan – photo © SANAA

Balancing subtlety with strength, SANAA’s landmark works speak for themselves. From the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa to the Rolex Learning Centre in Lausanne, these projects blend transparency with solidity, uniting public and private spaces. With simple, elegant materials and graceful lines, their designs invite interaction, creating a seamless flow of natural light – a hallmark of their approach. Their work at the New Museum in New York and the Louvre-Lens in France reflects the innovative spirit and technical skill, bringing warmth and life to every space. Bold yet respectful of the local environment, SANAA has, since its founding, shaped a universal language of architecture that resonates with people everywhere.

21st Century Museum of Art, Japan – photo © SANAA

As pioneers in sustainable, user-centred design, SANAA exemplifies an unassuming yet impactful leadership in the evolving practice and theory of architecture. Their lasting commitment to minimalist, human-focused space speaks to a deep understanding of architecture’s power to shape society. In an era where sustainability and accessibility are increasingly essential, SANAA’s work continues to set a thoughtful, inspiring standard.

This medal recognises a practice that has exemplified remarkable clarity and consistency over the decades. It is a testament to their contribution to architecture – intellectually rigorous yet playfully engaging. Their legacy is rooted in a shared vision where architecture prioritises the human experience and human interaction, alongside form and function. As pioneers, they demonstrate that architecture can be both functional and profoundly elegant, bringing a sense of calm to our increasingly complex and chaotic world. Their designs prove that good architecture is approachable, easy to use, and compelling, as it embodies a global language of design understood across culture and generations.

Sejima & Nishizawa – photo © SANAA