The Soane Medal continues the mission of Sir John Soane to encourage a better understanding of the central importance of architecture in people’s lives.
Established in 2017, the Soane Medal recognises architects, educators and critics who have made a major contribution to their field through practice, history or theory, and in doing so have furthered and enriched the public understanding of architecture. Previous winners are Anne Lacaton and Jean-Phlippe Vassal, Peter Barber, Marina Tabassum, Denise Scott Brown, Kenneth Frampton, and Rafael Moneo.
The winner of the Soane Medal is selected annually by a panel of distinguished architects, critics and curators, which has been led by former Trustee of Sir John Soane’s Museum, Sir David Chipperfield. The recipient of the Medal writes and delivers a lecture at a special event, open to all, and also receives a replica of the original gold medal presented to Sir John Soane by the ‘Architects of England’ in 1835.
We're so thrilled that Hanif Kara is our 2024 Soane Medal recipient.
The structural engineer behind internationally acclaimed projects, including four Stirling Prize-winning buildings, gave the annual Soane Medal Lecture at the Royal Academy on 26 November. Kara’s lecture reflected on his varied career and conveyed his optimism about addressing the climate emergency: ‘As a scientist, I like to think that hope can turn into possibilities’.
You can watch his Soane Medal Lecture, in full, below.
Since 1996, Hanif Kara has played a significant role in the design of four Stirling Prize-winning buildings: Peckham Library, London (2000); Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge (2012); Bloomberg’s European headquarters, London (2018); Kingston University London – Town House, London (2021). Other notable projects include Apple Campus 2 in Cupertino, Google’s London HQ, and currently the new London Museum, soon to open in Smithfield, London’s former Victorian meat market. In realising these projects, Kara has worked alongside globally acclaimed practices such as Zaha Hadid Architects, David Chipperfield, Herzog & de Meuron and Norman Foster and Partners.
More about Hanif
Kara’s practice draws on expertise across engineering, design and architecture, challenging the traditional role of a structural engineer to find solutions to the most complex problems, from building in the face of the climate emergency to the engineering of gravity. A desire to preserve and build for re-use is now at the core of Kara’s work as he looks to new, innovative materials and techniques to mitigate, and in some cases reverse, the environmental impact of construction.
Hanif Kara said: “I am delighted to be awarded this year’s Soane Medal. Soane used his work and collection to inspire future generations of buliders and designers, something I hope to continue through my own work In the complex world that we live in today, it is impossible to solve the problems we face without interdisciplinary collaboration and thinking. Only through curiosity and continual enquiry, questioning practices and norms, will we find the solutions that are so urgently required.”
Alongside his practice, Kara is widely recognised for his sustained commitment to education and mentoring. Kara has supported numerous early-career artists, architects and engineers through the experimental stages of their work, while also holding teaching positions at institutions across the world, including the Architecture Association, KHT Stockholm and the RCA. Following the publication of his book Design Engineering: AKT (2008), Kara took up a post at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, where he is currently one of the longest serving professors.
This year, the Soane Medal Lecture was hosted at the Royal Academy of Arts for the first time. Sir John Soane was Professor of Architecture at the RA between 1806 and 1837, in which time he delivered lectures accompanied by his own, meticulous illustrations. Two centuries on, we're thrilled that the 2024 Soane Medal Lecture was given by a recipient who shares Soane’s commitment to education, mentorship and innovative approaches to the built environment.
Will Gompertz, Deborah Loeb Brice Director of Sir John Soane’s Museum, said: “Hanif Kara is the engineer to whom Sir John Soane would have turned to realise his most ambitious, exciting designs. They might be divided by two centuries, but they are united in the belief that innovative, sympathetic, beautiful architecture can make a lasting and positive impact on the world.”
Sir John Soane’s Museum is grateful to Hamish and Sophie Forsyth for their support of the 2024 Soane Medal Lecture.
