Invisible Women: the Absent Presence in the Roll Call of Architectural Prize Winners

In 2014, Julia Morgan was the first woman to receive the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Gold Medal. A prolific architect, Morgan had died over 50 years before her win, yet the Institute who were established in 1907, had not thought to give it to her during her lifetime. Just 3% of winners of major architectural awards and prizes are female, and when they win, it is often when in partnership with their husband and business partner. Hardly any of the top five architectural prizes recognize the contribution of women in architecture. Despite 18% of nominations in its 170 year history, the RIBA’s Royal Gold Medal has only ever been awarded to a female architect on a single occasion. This paper will consider the architectural establishment’s starting point of prizes which are designed by men for men, and how, in the 21st century, women can challenge this pinnacle of the profession.