ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses only a fragment of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) societal impact; the award is a complex phenomenon that has multiple narrations in which social engagement is but only one thread. The AKAA scheme was a direct result of His Highness's desire to address the architectural needs of populations in the Muslim world, composed predominantly of countries considered to be part of the developing world. Architecture and society are inherently a duo, with one inextricably linked to the other; it must be realized that at its most fundamental purpose architecture is created for a society, or for elements of that society. The AKAA continues to embody His Highness's belief that architecture is essential for the creation, sustaining and advancement of social development and improvement of humanity's quality of life. The AKAA can be seen to have many different types of impacts on the production of architecture and the built environment.
