His Highness the Aga Khan Receives 2013 RAIC Gold Medal

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is awarding the 2013 Gold Medal, its highest honor, to His Highness the Aga Khan, founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and founder of the triennial Aga Khan Awards for Architecture. It is the first time in more than 30 years that the RAIC is giving the Gold Medal to a non-architect, recognizing his "extraordinary achievements in using architecture as an instrument to further peaceful and sustainable community development around the world," per an RAIC statement.

Admittedly, the AKDN and Aga Khan Awards tend to focus on Muslim countries, but the award recognizes his efforts in Canada, including the Ismaili Center in Vancouver; the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat in Ottawa; the Ismaili Centre, Aga Khan Museum and their Park currently being developed in Toronto; and an Islamic garden planned for the University of Alberta’s Devonian Botanic Garden.