Edward Cullinan to receive top RIBA honour

The Royal Institute of British Architects will tonight confer its most prestigious honour, the RIBA gold medal, to architect Edward Cullinan.

The British architect joins a list of RIBA gold medal winners including Swiss duo Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, who won last year, and Japanese architect Toyo Ito, who received the honour in 2006.

Cullinan has been singled out for his ‘highly personal and inventive’ buildings, as well as for his contribution to teaching within the field.

The Gridshell at the Weald and Downland Museum in West Sussex is one of Cullinan’s most recognised works, and is an ‘essay in sustainable construction’, according to RIBA.

At the ceremony in London tonight, ten honorary fellowships will also be awarded to non-architects who have made outstanding contributions to the field.

Thomas Heatherwick, the designer behind Manchester landmark B of the Bang and the East Beach Cafe in Littlehampton, will fly the flag for design, while Swiss Italian photographer Helene Binet will also be honoured for her work in architectural photography. 

Others include A further seven international fellowships will be presented to Balkrishna Doshi, Juha Leiviskä, William McDonough, Mack Scogin, Merrill Elam, Paulo Mendes da Rocha and Yoshio Taniguchi.