Geneva, Switzerland, 18 March 2021 – The Aga Khan Award for Architecture has announced the members of the Steering Committee for the 2020-2022 cycle.

The Steering Committee is chaired by His Highness the Aga Khan. The other members of the Steering Committee are:

• Sheikha Mai Bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, President, Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Manama.
• Emre Arolat, Founder, EAA- Emre Arolat Architecture, Istanbul.
• Meisa Batayneh, Principal Architect, Founder, maisam architects and engineers, Amman.
• Sir David Chipperfield, Principal, David Chipperfield Architects, London.
• Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Director, Institute of African Studies, Columbia University, New York.
• Nasser Rabbat, Aga Khan Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
• Marina Tabassum, Principal, Marina Tabassum Architects, Dhaka.
• Sarah M. Whiting, Dean, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge.

Farrokh Derakhshani is the Director of the Award. For more information about the Steering Committee, including biographies, please see the 2022 Steering Committee page.

The Steering Committee is the governing body of the Award. Perhaps one of its most important task is to select an independent Master Jury which, in turn, selects the award recipients from the nominated projects. It is also responsible for establishing the eligibility criteria for project nominations, providing thematic direction to the Award, and developing plans for its cyclical and long-term future.

Established in 1977, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture is given every three years to projects that set new standards of excellence in architecture, planning practices, historic preservation and landscape architecture. The Award seeks projects that represent the broadest possible range of architectural interventions, with attention given to building schemes that use local resources and appropriate technology in innovative ways, and those that are likely to inspire similar efforts elsewhere. Projects can be anywhere in the world but must successfully address the needs and aspirations of societies in which Muslims have a significant presence. Over 9000 projects have been documented.

Ceremonies to announce the winning projects and mark the close of each triennial cycle are always held in settings selected for their architectural and cultural importance to the Muslim world.  Previous venues for Award ceremonies encompass many of the most illustrious architectural achievements, including Shalimar Gardens in Lahore (1980), Topkapi Palace in Istanbul (1983), the Alhambra in Granada (1998), Emperor Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi (2004), the Musa Jalil Tatar Theatre and the Kazan Kremlin in the Russian Federation (2019).

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture has a prize fund of US$ 1,000,000. The rigor of its nomination and selection process has made it, in the eyes of many observers, one of the world’s most important architectural prizes. 

For more information please contact:

Aga Khan Award for Architecture
PO Box 2049
1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland Telephone: +41 (22) 909.72.00
Facsimile: +41 (22) 909.72.92
E-mail: akaa@akdn.org
Website: www.akdn.org/architecture

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NOTES:

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is part of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), which has a wide range of activities aimed at the preservation and promotion of the material and spiritual heritage of Muslim societies. As the cultural agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), the Trust leverages cultural heritage as a means of supporting and catalysing development. Its programmes include the Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme, which works to revitalise historic cities in the Muslim world, both culturally and socioeconomically. Over the last decade, it has been engaged in the rehabilitation of historic areas in Cairo, Kabul, Herat, Aleppo, Delhi, Zanzibar, Mostar, northern Pakistan, Timbuktu and Mopti. The Aga Khan Music Programme, which consolidates the activities of the Aga Khan Music Award and the Aga Khan Music Initiative, fosters the development of living musical heritage in societies across the world where Muslims have a significant presence, and disseminates this work internationally through collaborations with exceptionally creative musicians, artists, educators, and arts presenters. The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada offers visitors a window into the artistic, intellectual, and scientific heritage of Muslim civilizations and, through education, research, and collaboration, fosters a greater understanding and appreciation of those contributions. The Trust also supports the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA) at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as well as www.ArchNet.org, a major online resource on Islamic architecture.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a group of private development agencies working to empower communities and individuals, often in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve living conditions and opportunities, especially in Central and South Asia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. AKDN agencies work for the common good of all citizens, regardless of their gender, origin or religion. Its underlying impulse is the ethic of compassion for the vulnerable in society. Its annual budget for social and cultural development activities is US$ 1 billion (2019). The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), an AKDN development agency that makes long-term investments in fragile economies on a commercial basis, operates as a network of affiliates with more than 90 separate project companies employing over 65,000 people.