This week on Dezeen, the Royal Institute of British Architects named Ghanaian-Scottish architect and educator Lesley Lokko the recipient of this year's Royal Gold Medal.

Lokko is the first African woman to receive the prestigious award and, following in the footsteps of architects Zaha Hadid and Yasmeen Lari, became the third woman to win in her own right since the Royal Gold Medal was established in 1848.

In a video produced by the Royal Institute of British Architects, she reflected on her career in architecture and stated, "I very much hope that this medal demonstrates that it's worth it to think differently".

This week we also published a roundup of the 10 regions that will make up the Neom mega-development in northwest Saudi Arabia.

The best-known and largest Neom development is The Line (pictured above), which is set to be a city made up of two 500-metre-tall skyscrapers stretching 170 kilometres long.

The Trends in Evolution & Ecology journal named the controversial project one of this year's 15 most pressing global conservation issues, claiming it to be a substantial risk to migratory species.

Elsewhere in Saudi Arabia, architecture studio Populous unveiled its design for a stadium with seating on three sides and a retractable screen on the other.

Named the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, after the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, it will form part of an entertainment district in Qiddiya and is a proposed venue for the 2034 World Cup.

In other architecture news, photographer Rasmus Hjortshøj captured the spiky exterior of the BIG-designed Kaktus Towers as they near completion in Copenhagen.

We also rounded up eight upcoming skyscrapers in the United States that are in various stages of development, including what is set to be the first supertall skyscraper in Miami and an "all-electric" skyscraper in Manhattan.

Meanwhile in London, activist collective BP or not BP? took to Instagram to urge architects not to work on the recently-announced redevelopment masterplan for the British Museum due to funding from oil company BP.

The collective stated that by accepting a £50 million donation, the British Museum is "allowing BP to continue its extraction and harm Global South communities across the world who face the worst impacts of the climate crisis".

In design news, former Ferrari-designer Lowie Vermeersch spoke with Dezeen about his newly created micro vehicle project, Komma, which aims to push traditional vehicles off the road.

Hoping to shape 21st-century urban design by reducing the amount of space needed for vehicles, the Komma car is an electric two-seater vehicle that features car-like seats placed in front of one another for a narrow width.

Projects that turned readers' heads this week included a garden pavilion in London that weaves around a Lebanese cedar tree, a home in Sydney topped with a roof garden and a bamboo-clad house in the Netherlands.

Our latest lookbooks featured kitchens with floor-to-ceiling cabinets that help keep interiors clutter-free and homes with sheds and outbuildings.

This week on Dezeen

This week on Dezeen is our regular roundup of the week's top news stories. Subscribe to our newsletters to be sure you don't miss anything.