Dezeen Magazine

Kenneth Frampton

Kenneth Frampton, Sumita Singha, Peter Murray and Peter Barber recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours

Architectural historian Kenneth Frampton has been awarded a CBE, while architects Peter Barber and Sumita Singha, along with London Festival of Architecture founder Peter Murray, have received OBEs in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Influential twentieth-century architecture historian Frampton has been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to architecture.

Frampton, who taught at Princeton University School of Architecture, the Bartlett School of Architecture and Columbia University, wrote numerous texts on modern architecture.

One of his most significant texts is Modern Architecture: A Critical History, which was first published in 1980.

Peter Murray
Top: Kenneth Frampton has been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Above: Peter Barber was awarded an OBE

Murray, who was one of the founders of Blueprint magazine and established the London Festival of Architecture (LFA), was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to leadership in the arts, architecture, city planning, design, publication and charity.

"I am particularly pleased that the citation is for 'leadership in the arts, architecture, city planning, design, publication and charity' which nicely describes the various passions in my life and reflects the breadth of the work carried out by New London Architecture," he said.

"As a keen group cyclist, I am well aware of the benefits of drafting behind the efforts of others and I am very grateful to the teams at Blueprint, Wordsearch, London Festival of Architecture, Club Peloton and New London Architecture who helped me arrive at this point."

Murray founded Blueprint LFA and NLA

Trained as an architect, Murray has worked as a journalist for much of his career, editing UK architecture publications Architectural Design magazine, Building Design and the RIBA Journal.

In the 1980s he founded influential design and architecture magazine Blueprint with Deyan Sudjic, which recently ended its print edition.

Sumita Singha
Sumita Singha was awarded an OBE

Murray also founded architecture think tank New London Architecture and built environment consultancy Wordsearch.

Alongside Murray, Peter Barber Architects founder Barber and Eco=logic Architects director Singha were both made OBEs for services to architecture.

"I hope this inspires the RIBA to evaluate its own awards system"

Singha set up the Architects For Change expert advisory group at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and is the author of several books including Architecture For Rapid Change and Scarce Resources and Future Healthcare Design as well as editing Major works: Women In Architecture.

Singha hopes that the recognition will encourage RIBA to make its awards more diverse.

"I am truly delighted to receive an OBE in the company of people from the field of architecture, as well as adding to the growing diversity in the Queen's Honours list.

"I hope this inspires the RIBA to evaluate its own awards system to make it more diverse, equitable and inclusive."

Barber is widely known for a succession of affordable and social housing projects built across London.

Recent projects completed by the studio include a terrace of social housing in Greenwich, a tenement-style housing block in Peckham, and a row of brick homes along a cobbled lane in north London.

Co-founder of Stirling Prize-winning studio Haworth Tompkins Steve Tompkins was also recognised in the honours list by being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

The Queen's Birthday Honours are awarded each year on the Queen's birthday and along with the New Year Honours make up the British honours system.

Earlier this year Chipperfield was added to the elite Order of the Companions of Honour – one of the highest honours available to a British citizen – in the New Year's Honours. Designers Yinka Ilori and Ilse Crawford were also recognised.