Herman Hertzberger to Receive the 2012 Royal Gold Medal

The Royal Institute of British Architects has named internationally acclaimed Dutch architect Herman Hertzberger as the recipient of the 2012 Royal Gold Medal. Given in recognition of a lifetime's work, the Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by the Queen of England and is awarded annually to a person or group of people whose influence on architecture has had a truly international effect.  

RIBA President Angela Brady, who chaired the Honors Committee which selected the Royal Gold medal winner said: "Herman Hertzberger has transformed the way we think about architecture, both as architects and people who use buildings. His architecture is about form and space which he defines as "place which has not been appropriated". Throughout his career his humanity has shone through in his schools, homes, theaters and workplaces. The RIBA is delighted to recognize the importance of his achievements and the effect his designs have on people and place."

The award is for a body of work, rather than for one building or for an architect who is currently fashionable. Previous winners include Le Corbusier (1953), Frank Gehry (2000), Archigram (2002), Frei Otto (2005), Toyo Ito (2006), Herzog and de Meuron (2007), Edward (Ted) Cullinan (2008), Alvaro Siza (2009), I. M. Pei (2010) and Sir David Chipperfiled (2011).

In addition to the Gold Medal, the RIBA Council today also approved 14 new RIBA Honorary Fellowships and seven new RIBA International Fellowships to reward individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, including politics, journalism, architecture, engineering and the arts.

The 2012 RIBA Honorary Fellowships will be awarded to:

• Nicole Crockett, Chief Executive, Building Exploratory 
• Robert Elwall Assistant, Director, Photographs Collection, British Architectural Library, RIBA
• Adrian Forty, academic and writer
• Malcolm Hankey, Managing Director, Civic Trust Awards
• Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
• Doug King, environmental engineer, King Shaw Associates
• Fiona MacCarthy, writer
• Frank McDonald, Environment Editor, Irish Times
• Sandra O'Connell, writer and curator, Open House Dublin
• Peter Wynne Rees, Chief Planning Officer, City of London
• Peter Salter, academic and writer
• Richard Simmons, academic and former Chief Executive, CABE
• Chris Smith, National Planning Director, English Heritage
• Ai Weiwei, artist

The 2012 RIBA International Fellowships have been awarded to:

• Atelier Bow-Wow: Momoyo Kaijima and Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, Japan
• Carlos Ferrater, Office of Architecture in Barcelona (OAB), Spain
• Sou Fujimoto, Sou Fujimoto Architects, Japan
• Anna Heringer, Germany/Austria
• Christian Kerez, Switzerland
• Francisco Mangado, Spain

Speaking today, RIBA President Angela Brady said: "The RIBA is delighted to honor all seven new International Fellows. Each has made a major contribution to the world of architecture. Three of the 2012 International Fellows come from Japan; the others from Germany, Spain and Switzerland. The inspiration and influence of their work, however, extends beyond their borders. They join an illustrious list of architects honored by the RIBA as International Fellows."

This year's RIBA Honors Committee was chaired by RIBA President Angela Brady and included architects David Adjaye, Yvonne Farrell, Niall Mc Laughlin, Sarah Wigglesworth, and Sir Terence Conran.

Herman Hertzberger will be presented with the Royal Gold Medal on February 9, 2012 at a ceremony at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London, during which the 2012 RIBA International and Honorary Fellowships will also be presented.