The British architect Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was an avid collector, scholar and teacher but, above all, a practising architect who was deeply engaged in building the city around him.
Inspired by this legacy, David Chipperfield has been working with fellow trustees of Sir John Soane’s Museum in London to initiate the new award, which is intended to recognise architects, artists, writers and others whose work has enriched the understanding of architecture and the built environment.
The inaugural Soane Annual Lecture will be delivered by Rafael Moneo, whose career has embodied the idea of architecture as something that resides not just in the structure and the materials of a building, but in time and place, word and image, people and community.
In addition to the lecture Moneo will be awarded the Soane Medal (pictured), a copy of the medal presented in 1835 to Sir John Soane by ‘the Architects of England’, in recognition of his ‘essential services to Architecture’.
David Chipperfield said: ‘We are delighted to announce this new Soane Annual Lecture and Medal, and look forward to the significant voices and ideas it will bring to the museum. Our aim is to promote architectural culture, as Soane himself worked so tirelessly to do, and we hope it will become an important event in the London calendar.’
Rafael Moneo’s lecture will take place at 7pm on Wednesday 1 November at the Royal Institution in London.
Image: ‘Soane Medal', from the Architects of England, presented to Sir John Soane in 1835, Photo: © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London