The UIA Gold Medal and Prizes are awarded every three years during the Congress of the International Union of Architects. These honorific UIA Prizes were created in 1961 to reward professionals whose merit, talent or actions are of international renown. The prestigious Gold Medal was initiated by the UIA Council in 1984, to honour an architect (or group of architects) having distinguished themselves through their work and professional practice by the quality of services rendered to man and society. The recipient receives a medal in solid gold.

UIA GOLD MEDAL

When creating this medal, in 1984, the aim of the UIA was to bestow it with a prestige equivalent to that held by the Nobel Prize in the fields of Arts, Sciences and Social Sciences.

This unique and international prize, free of any national or private interests whatsoever, is the supreme honour awarded by the UIA and the highest recognition that an architect may receive from his fellow architects. It is awarded to a living architect in recognition of his achievements and contributions made throughout his life and career to the benefit of man and society, and the promotion of the art of architecture

The Gold Medal is ceremoniously awarded every three years during the UIA World Congress. The first medal was awarded to Hassan Fathy (Egypt); the second to Reima Pietila (Finland) in 1987; the third to Charles Correa (India) in 1990, and the fourth to Fumihiko Maki (Japan) in 1993.

Each UIA Member Section may nominate a single candidate for the Gold Medal. Nominees must, in principle, have been recipients of a significant architectural award.

UIA PRIZES

These Prizes, of a thematic nature, are each dedicated to the memory of one of the early Presidents of the Union, whose name they carry.

The Sir Patrick Abercrombie Prize, for town planning and territorial development;
The Auguste Perret Prize, for applied technology in architecture;
The Jean Tschumi Prize, or architectural criticism and/or architectural education;
The Sir Robert Matthew Prize, for the improvement in the quality of human settlements.

All UIA Member Sections may submit candidature files, on the condition that the candidate is a member of a UIA Section.