Richard Serra has been awarded the Presidentʼs Medal from the Architectural League of New York, the first time the prize has been given to an artist.

The medal recognizes a body of work in architecture, urbanism, art or design. Mr. Serra’s art “engages the senses in terms of scale, space, volume, and materiality in a way that is inevitably fascinating for every architect,” said the architect Annabelle Selldorf, the league president, in a statement.

Recent recipients of the medal include Renzo Piano, Amanda Burden, Ada Louise Huxtable and Robert A.M. Stern.