Farshid Moussavi to Receive 2026 Soane Medal

Farshid Moussavi will receive the 2026 Soane Medal at the Royal Academy in London on November 24, 2026, where she will also deliver a public lecture. Sir John Soane's Museum, which established the annual award in 2017, cited her contributions to architectural practice, history, and theory. The medal recognizes individuals whose work has contributed to a broader understanding of architecture and its role in society.

Moussavi founded Farshid Moussavi Architecture (FMA) in 2011. The practice spans architecture, education, and writing, with projects ranging from cultural and residential buildings to retail interiors.

Recent FMA works include the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland, the La Folie Divine apartments in Montpellier, the Îlot 19 housing block in La Défense-Nanterre in Paris, and the Harrods Toy Department in London. Îlot 19 forms part of the mixed-use development of the La Défense-Nanterre district. The practice's largest project to date, the Ismaili Center Houston in Texas, was completed in November 2025 following an international competition.

Born in Shiraz, Iran, in 1965, Moussavi studied at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, University College London, and the University of Dundee. She has taught at the Architectural Association, the Berlage Institute, Harvard University, UCLA, Princeton University, and Columbia University. She currently serves as Professor in Practice of Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and previously headed the Institute of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.

Her written work addresses the relationship between design, culture, and contemporary practice. She is the author of four books, including Architecture and Micropolitics, published in 2022. Her research extends to social housing and adaptive reuse. Her work on the French architect Renée Gailhoustet contributed to renewed attention around Gailhoustet's approach to collective housing.

A jury of architects, critics, and curators chaired by architect Amin Taha selected the 2026 laureate. Moussavi joins a roster of previous recipients that includes Madelon Vriesendorp, Hanif Kara, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, Peter Barber, Marina Tabassum, Denise Scott Brown, Kenneth Frampton, and Rafael Moneo. Vriesendorp received the 2025 medal and was the first UK-based female artist to receive the award since its establishment.

The Soane Medal arrives amid a cluster of major architecture recognitions. Daniel Libeskind received the 2026 Praemium Imperiale for Architecture. Kengo Kuma was selected for the 2027 Andrée Putman Lifetime Achievement Award for his influence on architecture and the built environment. The 2026 OBEL Award went to the Balearic Social Housing Model for its approach to public housing administration and the housing shortage in Spain.

The November 24 ceremony will give Moussavi a public platform to extend the arguments on practice, theory, and collective housing that the medal citation explicitly honors.