SANAA, The Japanese Masters of Minimalism Won RIBA 2025 Gold Medal

A Japanese architecture firm known for its 'minimalism' style has just won the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) gold medal for architecture. The RIBA 2025 Award is one of the world's most prestigious awards in the field of architecture, presented in the name of His Majesty the King of Japan. 

It recognizes Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa's architectural works, which have reshaped the design topography, creating spaces that highlight simplicity and light. The RIBA 2025 Awards Committee commended SANAA for establishing a universal architectural language that resonates with people everywhere. 

Kazuyo Sejima (left) and Ryue Nishizawa, Royal Gold Medallist 2025 (Credit: Aiko Suziki)
 

A hallmark of SANAA's designs is a deep commitment to creating places that bring together spaces that become gathering spaces, responding to the surrounding conditions, and the play of light in buildings that create a sense of life and architecture that blends with the natural surroundings. Known for minimalism style, SANAA's projects spread across the globe represent a dedication to the environment and local context, a variety of scales and typologies have been part of its journey for over three decades.

Apartments on Ave. Maréchal Fayolle (Credit: SANAA)

One of its works is 'Grace Farms', a mixed-use building and surrounding landscape design. When viewed, the building is shaped like a long roof that follows the site's topography, which floats centrally. Although it winds and crosses the entire curvature of the site freely, the structure of the building creates a variety of spaces with enclosed supports throughout the spacious building, which then results in forming a courtyard. The interior program is organized and wrapped in volumes of glass that match the character and are used under the roof. These glass are sometimes seen close to each other, but others are seen far apart, resulting in different viewpoints and spatial experiences. 

Grace Farms (Credit: Dean Kaufman)