Prof Lesley Lokko receives Annie Spink Award

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced Professor Lesley Lokko as the recipient of the 2020 RIBA Annie Spink Award for Excellence in Architectural Education.

Lokko is currently Dean of Architecture at the Spitzer School of Architecture, New York. From January 2021, she will begin building the African Futures Institute, an independent postgraduate school of architecture in Accra, Ghana.

The prestigious biennial prize is awarded to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of architectural education, in a school of architecture anywhere in the world that offers courses validated by the RIBA.

On receiving the award, Professor Lesley Lokko said: “I am deeply humbled by the jury’s decision. This award is for everyone who came out in support of the Black Lives Matter protests, which put such difficult and challenging questions on the table for us all. It is also dedicated to the teachers and students at the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg, whose tenacity and inventiveness have charted a new path for architectural education. Together with the profound intellectual generosity I experienced as a student at the Bartlett School of Architecture in the 1990s, they remain crucial touchstones in my teaching practice, now and in whatever comes next.”

RIBA President Professor Alan Jones said: “Congratulations to Professor Lesley Lokko, the deserving winner of our 2020 Annie Spink Award. Lesley’s impressive career in architectural education has spanned decades, and she has established herself as an internationally renowned educator. Lesley has demonstrated impactful leadership, passion and an unwavering commitment to architectural education and research, and lectured and published widely on the subjects of race, identity and architecture. I am delighted to present Professor Lesley Lokko with this accolade.”

Read more about Prof Lokko on the RIBA website‍