Ghanaian-Scottish Architect and Academic Received Top Honors from the Royal Institute of British Architects

Lesley Lokko challenges the discipline of architecture, even as shapes how the practice is taught. As a professor of design, she’s taught architecture students at universities in the US, UK and South Africa. The Ghanaian-Scottish architect is the founder and former director of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg, and in 2021, Lokko launched the African Futures Institute, a new model for architecture education in Accra, Ghana. Lokko also curated the most recent Venice Architecture Biennale, with contributions linked to Africa. In January, Lokko added another very prestigious entry to her résumé, becoming the first African woman to win the Royal Institute of British Architects Royal Gold Medal, the highest honor in UK architecture. She spoke to Bloomberg CityLab from Edinburgh about architecture, teaching, race and continental differences. 

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