Sir John Soane’s Museum announces British architect Peter Barber as the winner of the 2022 Soane Medal. The award will be presented tonight at a ceremony in the Museum, from which Peter will give the fifth Soane Medal Lecture. Viewers can tune in for free to watch at the following link from 6.30pm and it will also be available online after the event: www.soane.org/soane-medal
As one of Britain’s most acclaimed architects and founder of Peter Barber Architects, Peter’s practice focuses on social housing and urban planning. He has been widely celebrated for his inventive approach to design, delivering innovative housing which is both high-quality and affordable. Barber has also developed a number of speculative projects which respond to issues including the housing crisis and the revitalisation of de-industrialised areas.
Peter Barber, Soane Medal 2022 winner, said: “I am so thrilled to have been awarded this year’s Soane Medal. To be part of such an illustrious group of winners was both a lovely surprise and an honour. Soane was an inventive architect, and I hope that we continue to build on his legacy of experimenting with classical ideas and styles. At a time of such uncertainty, it’s really great to see social housing centre stage.”
In recent years Peter and his firm have received several awards, including a lifetime achievement award from the Architects’ Journal and IBA Neave Brown Award for Housing 2021. He was awarded an OBE for services to architecture last year and elected as a Royal Academician in January. Alongside his practice, Peter lectures on architecture at the University of Westminster and was recently invited by the government to lead a discussion on “Designing for Better Public Spaces” with a team of top built environment professionals.
The Soane Medal was established by Sir John Soane’s Museum in 2017 and continues the mission of the Museum’s founder, the celebrated Regency architect Sir John Soane, to encourage a better understanding of the central importance of architecture in culture and society. The Medal recognises architects, educators and critics who have made a major contribution to their field through practice, history or theory.
The recipient receives a replica of the original gold medal presented to Sir John Soane by the ‘Architects of England’ in 1835. Sir John Soane’s Museum also issues a publication marking the occasion. The inaugural Soane Medal winner in 2017 was the Spanish architect, Rafael Moneo. Subsequent winners were Denise Scott Brown (2018), Kenneth Frampton (2019) and Marina Tabassum (2021).
Bruce Boucher, Deborah Loeb Brice Director of Sir John Soane’s Museum, said: “The Soane Medal is awarded to a person who has made a genuine impact in the furthering and enrichment of the public understanding of architecture. This year’s recipient has done all of these things in the understated but vital field of affordable housing, creating spaces that connect with existing urban fabric, and provide an environment to nurture new communities. Peter Barber creates homes that allow their inhabitants to thrive in a way that we believe Soane would recognise and applaud.”
Alice Rawsthorn, author, design critic and member of the Soane Medal jury, said: “Housing is a major problem of our time. Peter has devoted his life to resolving this crisis with dedication, ingenuity and aplomb. He has designed new affordable homes where no one else could be bothered to build, reinventing historic typologies of working-class British housing. All of his work is motivated by his determination to help people to live safely, comfortably, productively and with dignity, making him a very worthy Soane Medallist.”
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London and one of this year’s Five Voices, said: “The philosophy underpinning Barber’s architecture is the notion that the street is the building block of a city – he isn’t just designing homes but designing London as well. His work compliments our efforts to build a better London for everyone – a city that is fairer, greener, safer and more prosperous for all our communities.”
