The North Wales Society of Architects (NWSA) ( cy, Cymdeithas Penseiri Gogledd Cymru) formerly the ''North Wales Architectural Society'' is one of four branches of the

Royal Society of Architects in Wales The Royal Society of Architects in Wales (RSAW) is the Wales region of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The society was granted Royal status by the Privy Council in 1994. It is based in Cardiff, with four branches throughout Wale ...

(RSAW). It was established in 1928 as an independent organisation, becoming a branch of the newly formed Society of Architects in Wales (as the RSAW was initially styled) in 1970 upon the restructuring of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

(RIBA). The Society champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and its members. As of 2014 it represented over 120 chartered architects in the region. The RSAW is the Wales region of the RIBA. RSAW was granted Royal status by the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1994. The society are also members of the Architects Benevolent Society and provide advice for members in the North Wales area.

Events & publications

The Society is noted as being a particularly active branch of the

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

and organises an annual series of well-attended building visits and lectures, usually held from early autumn through to late spring. In line with NWSA's ethos of promoting architecture to a wider audience, these events are open to non-members and all with an interest in design and architecture. Visits have included the 2014

Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The S ...

-winning Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, Copper Kingdom,

Amlwch Amlwch (; ) is a port town and community in Wales. It is situated on the north coast of the Isle of Anglesey, on the A5025 which connects it to Holyhead and to Menai Bridge. As well as Amlwch town and Amlwch Port, other settlements within t ...

, recipient of the RSAW Building of the Year 2014 and Cefn Castell,

Criccieth Criccieth ( cy, Criccieth ) is a town and community on the Llŷn Peninsula in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd in Wales. The town lies west of Porthmadog, east of Pwllheli and south of Caernarfon. It had a population of 1,826 in 2001, reducing ...

, RSAW Small Project of the Year, 2015. The society has previously jointly produced the journal, Architecture Wales, with their South Wales counterpart, and as the Chester & North Wales Architectural Society.

Governance

The Society is governed by its elected Council. Councillors are elected for a three-year term at the Society's Annual General Meetings and can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. Council meets every two months and is led by the Society's President, who serves a maximum two-year term. There is no maximum term for the Society's Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer offices.

Design Consultation

NWSA offers a design review panel to provide impartial expert advice on the quality of designs submitted to local authority Planning Departments across North Wales.

Regalia

The Society's Presidential Chain of Office was designed in 1954 by Fattorini and Sons of Birmingham of hallmarked sterling silver finished in polished hard gold plate and vitreous enamelled in three colours. Between 1961 and 1994 the Society presented a Past President Medal, similarly designed and produced by Fattorini. This custom was reinstated in 2017.

Presidents

As of October 2022, the Society has been served by 45 presidents in its 94-year history, amongst them many celebrated luminaries of the profession. Whilst there are inconsistencies in the years in office quoted below, due to Annual General Meetings being held at various times throughout the year, with the exception of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Presidents have served a fixed two-year term. For consistency and in the interests of historical accuracy, the dates shown are therefore taken directly from the Chain of Office.

Honorary Secretaries

''This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.'' *G. Parry Davies ?-1964 *Kenneth W. Favell 1965-? *Keith Harwood 1985-? *Ian T Thomas 1997 *Mark E French ? – 2014 *Leonie Wainwright 2014 – 2016 *Derwyn Owen 2016 – 2018 *Gethin Jones 2018 – 2022 *Leonie Wainwright 2022 – (''acting Secretary'')

Honorary Treasurers

''This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.'' * R John Howard 1978 * W D (`Gwilym') Evans 1984 * C P (`Skip') Belton 1994 * J Barrie M Williams 1997 – 2011 * Andrew Kelly 2011 –

References

{{Authority control * Architecture organisations based in the United Kingdom Professional associations based in the United Kingdom Professional associations based in Wales Architecture-related professional associations Architecture in Wales Welsh design 1928 establishments in Wales