For the second year, Italian furniture company Arper partners with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to sponsor the Royal Gold Medal Week, which will run from 30 January to 3 February.

The Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by Her Majesty The Queen and is given to a person or group of people who have had a significant influence either directly or indirectly on the advancement of architecture.

This year’s Medal is awarded to Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Brazil’s most celebrated living architect. Arper congratulates Mendes da Rocha for being awarded this distinguished Prize in celebration of his lifetime’s work.

Among the events sponsored by Arper over the course of the Week is the anticipated Royal Gold Medal Lecture 2017, when Mendes da Rocha will reflect on a prolific career that spans over six decades of architectural practice.

Sponsorship of RIBA’s Royal Gold Medal Week marks the launch of a year-long partnership that will see Arper sponsor the RIBA National Award winners summer party, celebrating the UK’s best new architecture, and as furniture supporter of the internationally renowned RIBA Stirling Prize, for the UK’s best new building, in the autumn.

Claudio Feltrin, Chairman Arper said: “Arper believes in promoting an intercultural dialogue across arts, architecture and design, and the strong partnership with RIBA sits in this cultural context.”

Over the course of the year Arper and RIBA will partner on a series of further initiatives aimed at strengthening the partnership, as well as promoting Arper’s collaborative approach and commitment towards the architects and design community.

Daniel Gava, Director Arper UK Ltd said: “Based out of our Clerkenwell home, we work closely with architects every day to help them complement their work through innovative solutions for diverse needs. Arper’s collections adapt and blend into the layout of each project, offering enhanced value to the architect’s requirements”.

Further projects that play testament to Arper’s active engagement with the UK’s A&D community will follow throughout the year with the Design Museum, of which Arper is corporate partner, the British Institute of Interior Designers, and during Clerkwenwell Design Week, when the showroom will once again play host to the festival’s official Bloggers Lounge, in London’s design district.