The American Institute of Architects has named Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown as the 2016 AIA Gold Medal laureates, giving them the joint recognition that the Pritzker Prize organisers refused.

Almost three years after a petition to retroactively recognise Scott Brown as co-winner of Venturi's 1991 Pritzker Prize was rejected, the AIA has chosen to present both architects with its most prestigious annual award.

Based in Philadelphia, the husband and wife duo are known for their Postmodern style of architecture, with projects including the Vanna Venturi House, the Sainsbury Wing of London's National Gallery, and the Seattle Art Museum.

They have also authored many influential architectural texts, from Learning from Las Vegas to Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, and are behind furniture designs including the Queen Anne and Chippendale chairs.

The recipients of the 2016 AIA Gold Medal Award are Denise Scott Brown, Hon. FAIA & Robert Venturi, FAIA! Congrats!! pic.twitter.com/NEDrhOu4Mf

— AIA National (@AIANational) December 2, 2015

"This recognition will resonate with generations of architects," said AIA president Elizabeth Chu Richter. "What Denise and Bob have done for the profession far exceeds the completion of a great building or two."

"Through a lifetime of inseparable collaboration, they changed the way we look at buildings and cities," she added. "Anything that is great in architecture today has been influenced in one way or another by their work."

The Gold Medal is the American Institute of Architects' highest accolade and is awarded to individuals whose work is expected to have a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.

Scott Brown is only the second woman to win the prize in its 109-year history. Californian architect Julia Morgan was given the award posthumously in 2014.

The pair are also the first duo to ever be awarded the prize, thanks to a change in the eligibility criteria put into place last year.

The AIA announced the news via Twitter. The award will be presented to Venturi and Scott Brown at the 2016 AIA National Convention in Philadelphia in May. Their names will also be chiselled into the granite wall in the lobby of the AIA headquarters in Washington DC.

Other recent winners include Moshe Safdie, Steven Holl and Thom Mayne.