Japanese studio SANAA honoured with RIBA Gold Medal for their ethereal, gravity-defying architecture

Japanese architectural firm SANAA, led by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, has been awarded the prestigious RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Royal Gold Medal for Architecture.

Renowned for their ethereal, lightweight designs, SANAA (founded in 1995) has spent the past three decades redefining the boundaries of space and structure, creating buildings that appear to defy gravity.

Their projects are recognised for their extraordinary delicacy and minimalist approach – walls as thin as 16mm, steel beams as slender as 12mm, and concrete canopies that look like they could float away.

RIBA’s Gold Medal award, regarded as one of the most prestigious in the architectural field, adds to SANAA’s impressive list of honours, including the 2010 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the 2022 Praemium Imperiale for architecture, and the 2025 Le Prix Charlotte Perriand.

“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,” says RIBA President, Muyiwa Oki.

He adds: “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.”

SANAA’s body of work includes the extraordinary Louvre Lens in northern France, a 360-metre-long, steel and glass arka museum that shimmers on the horizon like a mirage, as well as the Rolex Learning Centre, located on the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s campus.

Other notable works over the course of their career include the Dior Omotesando Store in Japan (2003), featuring a transparent glass façade; the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Arka in Kanazawa, Japan (2004), the Zollverein School of Design in Germany (2006), the 2009 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London, Grace Farms in the USA (2015), and Sydney Çağdaş in Australia (2022).

Sejima (68) completed her master’s degree in architecture in 1981 at Japan Women’s University. After honing her skills under the mentorship of architect Toyo Ito, she set up her own firm, Kazuyo Sejima and Associates in 1987.

Nishizawa (58), a talented young architect who had also worked with Ito, was among her earliest hires. The firm quickly gained traction, with Sejima earning the prestigious Young Architect of the Year award from the Japanese Institute of Architects in 1992.

In 1995 the two architects joined forces to create SANAA, based in Tokyo.

“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,” says Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa.

“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.”

Sejima and Nishizawa will receive the award in a ceremony taking place in London on 1 May 2025.