October 11, 2005

Toyo Ito Image Courtesy of RIBA

Japanese architect Toyo Ito has won the 2006 Royal Gold Medal for Architecture. He will receive the medal at a February 15, 2006 ceremony held at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The annual award is given in recognition of a lifetime's worth of work, and the recipient is personally approved by the Queen. It is bestowed upon a person or group of people whose influence on architecture has had an international effect.

Ito's recent projects include the Sendai Médiathèque, Sendai, Japan (2001), the Brugge Pavilion (2002) in Belgium, and London's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion (2002). Ito's modernist architecture draws its inspiration from nature, using organic geometries and joyful spaces filled with life.

"Toyo Ito has been an inspiration for generations of architects worldwide since his work started to receive international acclaim in the 1970s," said Jack Pringle, RIBA President, in a written statement. "For thirty years he has been a leading figure in architecture and I am delighted that he has accepted the Royal Gold Medal."

Tony Illia

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