Yasmeen Lari, Pakistan’s first female architect, has recently gone viral for refusing the prestigious Wolf Prize 2025. The prize, which has been granted every year since 1978 in Israel, celebrates artists and scientists for their achievements. While the award aims to be inclusive and tries to build positive relationships between people who contribute to humanity, the fact that the foundation is based out of Israel – the country actively committing genocide against the Palestinians – was enough for Yasmeen to reject the award politely.
In her letter to the foundation, Yasmeen Lari politely refused the award and acknowledged that while the Wolf Foundation is allegedly independent of the Israeli government, it is based in Israel, and that is enough for her to be unable to accept the award.
According to Al Jazeera, as of January 2025, Israel has brutally murdered over 46,000 Palestinians, of which 18,000 were children. Most human rights groups and analysts have stated that the actual number is far higher than the one being shared. Netizens are praising Yasmeen Lari’s decision on the internet. Rejecting such a prestigious international award—especially since it comes with a whopping $100,000—is not easy.
In an interview with Arab News discussing her decision, Lari stated, “I declined the award because of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, a reason I explicitly stated in my response to them.” She further stated that her decision to turn down the award was “the very least I could do.”
Who is Yasmeen Lari? The First Female Architect of Pakistan!
Yasmeen Ahsan was born in Dera Ghazi Khan in 1941 and spent much of her childhood in Lahore. Her father, Zafarul Ahsan, an officer in the Indian Civil Service, would travel to big cities to oversee developmental projects, and Yasmeen would accompany him. Many believe that this is where her aptitude for architecture came about.
When she was 15, Yasmeen visited the UK with her family for vacation but ended up enrolling in school there. She tried to get into architecture school and recalled the story of her rejection during an interview with Jazba Magazine.
“I went for an interview to get admission…and they [asked], ‘Well, can you draw, young lady?’ And I said I couldn’t … so they [suggested], ‘You better go learn to draw first at an art school.”
After studying art and drawing for two years, she eventually enrolled in the Oxford College of Technology, which is now the Oxford Brookes University School of Architecture.
Yasmeen graduated in 1964 at the age of 23. She moved back to Pakistan with her husband Suhail Zaheer Lari—opting to settle in Karachi—and opened her own practice called “Lari Associates.” This was the iconic moment when she started becoming known as Pakistan’s first female architect.
From “Starchitect” to Sustainability: Yasmeen’s Journey
Yasmeen started her career by designing bold homes in the 60s and 70s. She then became part of bigger state-commissioned projects like Karachi’s Finance and Trade Center, Pakistan State Oil House, and the iconic Taj Hotel, among many others. However, in 2000, she retired and wanted to work on writing books about Pakistan’s architectural history and work towards and put her energies into the Heritage Foundation, which she had founded with her husband in 1980.
In another interview, while discussing her change in approach, Yasmeen stated, “I feel like I am atoning for some of what I did … I was a ‘starchitect’ for 36 years, but then my egotistical journey had to come to an end. It’s not only the right of the elite to have good design.”
When the 2005 earthquake struck Pakistan, over 80,000 people were killed, and over 40,000 people were displaced. Organizations were working on providing quick relief and standard prefab housing with concrete and iron. However, Yasmeen realized that using readily available natural materials, such as mud, stone, wood, and lime, was a more sustainable move. She worked with the locals and volunteers and taught them how to use these materials effectively to build better and safer housing.
The Heritage Foundation and Barefoot Entrepreneurs:
Since then, she and her foundation have been working on disaster relief techniques to ensure low costs, zero carbon emissions, and zero waste. They have worked on community centers raised on stilts. These shelters use cross-braced bamboo frameworks, special “chulah” stoves that are centered around health, hygiene, and self-esteem, and even training programmes to enable locals to make housing materials and household products that they can sell to each other.
Through these programmes, Yasmeen and her team have created a new class of ‘barefoot entrepreneurs’, and she is proud that 80% of the communities they have worked with have now been raised above the poverty line.
To further their agenda of uplifting communities, the Heritage Foundation has created a dedicated training space spread over four acres (at the edge of the Makli necropolis in Sindh). This thatched-roof hangar walled with decorative bamboo screens – aptly titled the Zero Carbon Culture Centre – is now a center for learning, especially welcoming women and young people who were previously beggars and want to uplift their socioeconomic status.
Awards and Accolades:
Yasmeen Lari’s illustrious career and focus on sustainable humanitarian efforts have earned her recognition worldwide.
Some of them are:
- U.N. Recognition Award for the Heritage Foundation (for their efforts towards cultural and historical conservation) – 2002
- Sitara-e-Imtiaz, for her services towards the field of architecture and conservation of Pakistani heritage – 2006
- First Wonder Woman of the Year Award, Pakistan – 2011
- Fukuoka Prize for Arts and Culture – 2016
- Jane Drew Prize for raising the profile of women in architecture and design – 2020
- Laurea Magistrale ad Horonem in Architecture (by the Politecnico di Milano) – 2021
- Appointed ‘The Sir Arthur Marshall Professor of Sustainable Design’ in the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge – 2022
- Received the Honorary Doctorate in Design from Oxford Brooks University – 2023
- Recipient of the 2023 Royal Gold Medal
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
Aleena Imran has an MBA from NUST and has worked as an HR professional at companies like MPCL, Coke, Jazz, and LMKT. In her spare time, she runs her home-based baking business. Apart from being an avid reader, she enjoys writing, photography, and art.