The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a
professional body
A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and the ...
for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supplemental charters and a new charter granted in 1971.
Founded as the Institute of British Architects in London in 1834, the RIBA retains a central London headquarters at
66 Portland Place
66 Portland Place is an office building in Marylebone in Central London, near the boundary with Fitzrovia. Located on the corner of Portland Place and Weymouth Street, it serves as the headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects (" ...
as well as a network of regional offices. Its members played a leading part in promotion of architectural education in the United Kingdom; the RIBA Library, also established in 1834, is one of the three largest architectural libraries in the world and the largest in Europe. The RIBA also played a prominent role in the development of UK architects' registration bodies.
The institute administers some of the oldest architectural awards in the world, including
RIBA President's Medals Students Award
The RIBA President's Medals are international awards presented annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to architecture students or recent graduates. In 2019, the RIBA invited 408 schools of architecture located in 80 countries ...
, the
Royal Gold Medal
The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...
, and the
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 ...
. It also manages
RIBA Competitions RIBA Competitions is the Royal Institute of British Architects' unit dedicated to organising architectural and other design-related competitions.
Architectural design competitions are used by an organisation that plans to build a new building or re ...
, organising architectural and other design-related competitions.
The RIBA was historically a male-dominated body, first admitting women members in 1898, and appointing its first female president in 2009. Sometimes perceived as a London-centric organisation,
it has also been accused of lacking transparency.
History
Originally named the Institute of British Architects in London, it was formed in 1834 by several prominent architects, including
Decimus Burton,
Philip Hardwick
Philip Hardwick (15 June 1792 in London – 28 December 1870) was an English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere. Hardwick is probably best known for London's demolished Euston Arch ...
,
Thomas Allom
Thomas Allom (13 March 1804 – 21 October 1872) was an English architect, artist, and topographical illustrator. He was a founding member of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). He designed many buildings in London, i ...
,
William Donthorne
William John Donthorn (1799 – 18 May 1859) was a notable early 19th-century English architect, and one of the founders of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
He was born in Swaffham, Norfolk and a pupil of Sir Jeffry ...
,
Thomas Leverton Donaldson
Thomas Leverton Donaldson (19 October 1795 – 1 August 1885) was a British architect, notable as a pioneer in architectural education, as a co-founder and President of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a winner of the RIBA Royal Gold ...
,
William Adams Nicholson
William Adams Nicholson (1803–1853) was an English architect who worked in Lincoln and was a founding member of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Life
Born on 8 August 1803 at Southwell, Nottinghamshire, he was the son of James Nich ...
,
John Buonarotti Papworth
John Buonarotti Papworth (24 January 1775 – 16 June 1847) was a British architect, artist and a founder member of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
He adopted the middle name "Buonarotti" in around 1815.
As well as being active in ...
, and
Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey
Thomas Philip de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey, 3rd Baron Grantham, 6th Baron Lucas, KG, PC, FRS (born Robinson, later Weddell; 8 December 178114 November 1859), styled as The Hon. Thomas Robinson until 1786 and as Lord Grantham from 1786 to 1833, of ...
. The latter served as the institute's first president for 25 years until his death in 1859.
After the grant of the royal charter it had become known as the Royal Institute of British Architects in London, eventually dropping the reference to London in 1892. In 1934, it moved to its current headquarters on
Portland Place
Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. Named after the Third Duke of Portland, the unusually wide street is home to BBC Broadcasting House, the Chinese and Polish embassies, the Royal Institute of British A ...
, with the building being opened by
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
and
Queen Mary.
Royal charter
It was granted its
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
in 1837 under
King William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
. Supplemental Charters of 1887, 1909 and 1925 were replaced by a single Charter in 1971, and there have been minor amendments since then.
The original Charter of 1837 set out the purpose of the Royal Institute to be: '... the general advancement of Civil Architecture, and for promoting and facilitating the acquirement of the knowledge of the various arts and sciences connected therewith...'
The operational framework is provided by the Byelaws, which are more frequently updated than the Charter. Any revisions to the Charter or Byelaws require the approval of 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 ...
.
Motto
The design of the institute's
Mycenae
Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. Th ...
an lions medal and the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
motto ''Usui civium, decori urbium'' has been attributed to Thomas Leverton Donaldson, who had been honorary secretary until 1839. The RIBA ''Guide to its Archive and History'' (Angela Mace,1986) records that the first official version of the badge of the
Lion Gate
Lion Gate ( el, Πύλη των Λεόντων) is the popular modern name for the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae in southern Greece. It was erected during the thirteenth century BC, around 1250 BC, in the northwestern side o ...
at
Mycenae
Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. Th ...
was used as a bookplate for the institute's library and publications from 1835 to 1891, when it was redesigned by J. H. Metcalfe. It was again redesigned in 1931 by
Eric Gill
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...
and in 1960 by
Joan Hassall
Joan Hassall (3 March 1906 – 6 March 1988) was a wood engraver and book illustrator. Her subject matter ranged from natural history through poetry to illustrations for English literary classics. In 1972 she was elected the first woman Mas ...
. The description in the 1837 by-laws was: "gules, two lions rampant guardant or, supporting a column marked with lines chevron, proper, all standing on a base of the same; a garter surrounding the whole with the inscription ''Institute of British Architects, anno salutis MDCCCXXXIV''; above a mural crown proper, and beneath the motto ''Usui civium decori urbium'' ". The motto is translated "for the use of the people, for the glory of the city".
Architectural education
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the RIBA and its members had a leading part in the promotion of
architectural education in the United Kingdom After nearly a century of endeavour and negotiation which had been led by the Royal Institute of British Architects, a statutory Board of Architectural Education was formed under the Architects (Registration) Act, 1931. For the purposes of constit ...
, including the establishment of the
Architects' Registration Council of the United Kingdom (ARCUK) and the
Board of Architectural Education
The Board of Architectural Education is no longer appointed. It had been a statutory body in the United Kingdom constituted under section 5 of the Architects (Registration) Act, 1931.
The Act was citable with two amending Acts as the Architects ...
under the
Architects (Registration) Acts, 1931 to 1938
The Architects (Registration) Acts, 1931 to 1938 is the statutory citation for three Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament, namely:
* Architects (Registration) Act 1931;
* Architects (Registration) Act 1934; and
* Architects Registration Act 1938 ...
. A member of the RIBA,
Lionel Bailey Budden, then Associate Professor in the
Liverpool University School of Architecture
The School of Architecture is an architecture school in Liverpool, England, and part of the University of Liverpool. It was the first architecture school in the United Kingdom to be affiliated with a university, and the first to have degree pro ...
, had contributed the article on Architectural Education published in the fourteenth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1929). His School, Liverpool, was one of the twenty schools named for the purpose of constituting the statutory Board of Architectural Education when the 1931 Act was passed.
Soon after the passing of the 1931 Act, in the book published on the occasion of the institute's centenary celebration in 1934, Harry Barnes, FRIBA, Chairman of the Registration Committee, mentioned that ARCUK could not be a rival of any architectural association, least of all the RIBA, given the way ARCUK was constituted. Barnes commented that the Act's purpose was not protecting the architectural profession, and that the legitimate interests of the profession were best served by the (then) architectural associations in which some 80 per cent of those practising architecture were to be found.
The RIBA ''Guide to its Archive and History'' (1986) has a section on the "Statutory registration of architects" with a bibliography extending from a draft bill of 1887 to one of 1969. The Guide's section on "Education" records the setting up in 1904 of the RIBA Board of Architectural Education, and the system by which any school which applied for recognition, whose syllabus was approved by the Board and whose examinations were conducted by an approved external examiner, and whose standard of attainment was guaranteed by periodical inspections by a "Visiting Board" from the BAE, could be placed on the list of "recognized schools" and its successful students could qualify for exemption from RIBA examinations.
The content of the acts, particularly section 1 (1) of the amending act of 1938, shows the importance which was then attached to giving architects the responsibility of superintending or supervising the building works of local authorities (for housing and other projects), rather than persons professionally qualified only as municipal or other engineers. By the 1970s another issue had emerged affecting education for qualification and registration for practice as an architect, due to the obligation imposed on the United Kingdom and other European governments to comply with European Union Directives concerning mutual recognition of professional qualifications in favour of equal standards across borders, in furtherance of the policy for a
single market of the European Union. This led to proposals for reconstituting ARCUK. Eventually, in the 1990s, before proceeding, the government issued a consultation paper "
Reform of Architects Registration "Reform of Architects Registration" was the title of a UK government consultation paper dated 19 July 1994 which was issued by the Department of the Environment. The introduction stated that in October 1993 the Government had announced that the pro ...
" (1994). The change of name to "
Architects Registration Board" was one of the proposals which was later enacted in the
Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996
The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its long title shows that it is a piece of omnibus legislation:
:''An Act to make provision for grants and other assistance for housing pur ...
and re-enacted as the
Architects Act 1997
The Architects Act 1997 (c. 22) is the consolidating Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the keeping and publishing of the statutory Register of Architects by the Architects Registration Board. It has the long title: ''An Act to cons ...
; another was the abolition of the ARCUK Board of Architectural Education.
RIBA Visiting Boards continue to assess courses for exemption from the RIBA's examinations in architecture. Under arrangements made in 2011 the validation criteria are jointly held by the RIBA and the Architects Registration Board, but unlike the ARB, the RIBA also validates courses outside the UK.
In 2005 Royal Institute of British Architects set up
Academy of Urbanism.
In 2019 the RIBA Council voted for the creation of the RIBA Future Architects initiative, an online platform and international network aimed at Part I, Part II and Part III architectural students and graduates. The initiative was championed by student and associates' representatives on Council, after a 2018 campaign highlighting the hardship architectural students faced in their degrees. The initiative is designed to support, inspire and provide a voice as students and graduates transition from study to practice.
Structure
The RIBA is governed by the RIBA Council, a group of 60 members, elected from among the RIBA membership, the majority of whom are
chartered architect A chartered architect in the United Kingdom is a corporate member of one or more of the following architects' professional bodies:
*the Royal Institute of British Architects
*the Royal Society of Ulster Architects
*the Royal Incorporation of Archite ...
s.
The RIBA is a member organisation, with 44,000 members. Chartered Members are entitled to call themselves
chartered architect A chartered architect in the United Kingdom is a corporate member of one or more of the following architects' professional bodies:
*the Royal Institute of British Architects
*the Royal Society of Ulster Architects
*the Royal Incorporation of Archite ...
s and to append the
post-nominals
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...
RIBA after their name; Student Members are not permitted to do so. Formerly, fellowships of the institute were granted, although no longer; those who continue to hold this title instead add FRIBA. Members gain access to all the institute's services and receive its monthly magazine the ''
RIBA Journal
The ''RIBA Journal'', (often known simply as the ''RIBAJ''), is an architecture magazine and website published by the Royal Institute of British Architects, based in London. It has the largest circulation of any UK-originating architecture magazin ...
'' and articles on its website, RIBAJ.com.
Designation
*ARIBA: Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (no longer granted to new members)
*FRIBA: Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (and Hon Fellow – an honorary designation)
*RIBA: Chartered member of the Royal Institute of British Architects
* The institute's president is designated PRIBA, past presidents use PPRIBA
Regions
The institute also maintains twelve regional offices around the United Kingdom, including a London regional office. The first regional office was the East of England, opened at Cambridge in 1966. Each region encompasses several local architectural groups. In February 2022, the RIBA was criticised for cost-cutting proposals to merge its offices across England into three 'super regions'.
* RIBA East – Great Shelford
* RIBA East Midlands – Nottingham
* RIBA London – London
* RIBA North East – Newcastle
* RIBA North West – Liverpool
* RIBA South / South East – Reading
* RIBA South West / Wessex – Bristol
* RIBA West Midlands – Birmingham
* RIBA Yorkshire – Leeds
* RIAS –
Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) is the professional body for architects in Scotland.
History
Previously the (lapsed) Architectural Institute of Scotland, it was re-founded in 1916 as the Incorporation of Architects in ...
, Edinburgh
* RSAW –
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 ...
, Cardiff
* RSUA –
Royal Society of Ulster Architects
The Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) is the professional body for registered architects in Northern Ireland.[Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...](_blank)
, a base at 76 Portland Place in London, and an office in
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
, later sold to allow further investment.
It once employed over 250 staff, approximately 180 of whom were based in Newcastle. Its services include RIBA Insight, and ''
RIBA Product Selector.'' It previously ran RIBA Publishing, RIBA Bookshops (which operates online and at 66 Portland Place), RIBA Appointments and ''
RIBA Journal
The ''RIBA Journal'', (often known simply as the ''RIBAJ''), is an architecture magazine and website published by the Royal Institute of British Architects, based in London. It has the largest circulation of any UK-originating architecture magazin ...
''. These all now operate as part of the RIBA.
RIBA Enterprises also included the Newcastle-based NBS (
National Building Specification
NBS (National Building Specification) is a UK-based business providing construction specification information used by architects, engineers and other building professionals to describe the materials, standards and workmanship of a construction pro ...
), which had 130 staff and dealt with
building regulations and the Construction Information Service. In June 2018, the RIBA announced it was selling a £31.8 million stake in RIBA Enterprises, to LDC, the private equity arm of
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...
.
In November 2020, NBS was sold to Byggfakta Group, a Sweden-based information services provider.
The RIBA received £172 million
from the sale of its stake in NBS, some of which was reinvested to provide a reliable income stream for the institute.
The RIBA has been recognised as a business
Superbrand since 2008.
RIBA headquarters
![Architectural Aspiration - Edward Bainbridge Copnall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Architectural_Aspiration_-_Edward_Bainbridge_Copnall.jpg)
The RIBA's headquarters has been at
66 Portland Place
66 Portland Place is an office building in Marylebone in Central London, near the boundary with Fitzrovia. Located on the corner of Portland Place and Weymouth Street, it serves as the headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects (" ...
, London, since 1934. This Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
was designed by architect
George Grey Wornum
George Grey Wornum (17 April 1888 – 11 June 1957) was a British architect.
Grey Wornum was born in London and educated at Bradfield College and the Slade School of Art. He studied architecture under the guidance of his uncle, Ralph Selden Wornum ...
for the institute and features sculptures by
Edward Bainbridge Copnall
Edward Bainbridge Copnall (29 August 1903 – 18 October 1973) was a British sculptor and painter. Best known for his architectural and decorative sculptures featuring allegorical and religious subjects. He was the President of the Royal Soci ...
and
James Woodford
James Arthur Woodford (1893–1976) was an English sculptor. His works include sets of bronze doors for the headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects and Norwich City Hall; the Queen's Beasts, originally made for the Coronation i ...
. The building is open to the public, and includes a library, architectural bookshop, a café, bar, exhibition galleries and lecture theatre. Rooms are hired out for events.
The organisation also owns an adjacent building at 76 Portland Place, a 1950s office building overhauled in 2013, which housed RIBA staff and a members' café. In September 2021, following the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
and an £8 million budget deficit in the year ending December 2020, the RIBA announced plans to sell 76 Portland Place and to reduce staff numbers. Chief executive Alan Vallance said 89% of RIBA's staff only wanted to work two or three days a week from an office, so 76 Portland Place was surplus to requirements.
A potential 20 further redundancies were reported on 31 January 2022.
In January 2022, the RIBA announced an architectural competition for RIBA-chartered architectural practices for a £20 million "comprehensive refurbishment" of its 66 Portland Place HQ.
British Architectural Library
The British Architectural Library, sometimes referred to as the RIBA Library, was established in 1834 upon the founding of the institute with donations from members. Now, with over four million items, it is one of the three largest architectural libraries in the world and the largest in Europe. Some items from the collections are on permanent display at the
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
(V&A) in the V&A + RIBA Architecture Gallery and included in temporary exhibitions at the RIBA and across Europe and North America. Its collections include:
*Archives: 1.5 million items made up of architects' personal papers, correspondence, notebooks and diaries.
*Audiovisual materials: Talks held at the RIBA, including talks by winners of the Royal Gold Medal.
*Biographical files: 20,000 biographical files relating to a specific architect or firm. Files contain a mix of nomination papers for membership of the RIBA, obituaries, brochures, articles and letters.
*Books: 150,000 books and 20,000 pamphlets, with the earliest book dating from 1478. Amongst the items is a first edition of
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of ...
's ''I quattro libri dell'architettura'' from 1570 and
John Tallis
John Tallis (7 November 1817 – 3 June 1876) was an English cartographic publisher.Boase, F., Modern English biography'', 6 vols, 1892-1921 His company, John Tallis & Company, published views, maps and atlases in London from roughly 1838 to 18 ...
's ''Tallis's London street views'' from 1838 to 1840.
*Drawings: 1 million items are held. These predominantly cover British architects from the Renaissance to the present day, such as
Ernő Goldfinger
Ernő Goldfinger (11 September 1902 – 15 November 1987) was a Hungarian-born architect and designer of furniture. He moved to the United Kingdom in the 1930s, and became a key member of the Modernist architectural movement. He is most prom ...
,
Charles Holden
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
and
Edwin Lutyens. It holds the world's largest collection of drawings by Andrea Palladio.
*Models: Examples come from architects such as
Denys Lasdun
Sir Denys Louis Lasdun, CH, CBE, RA (8 September 1914, Kensington, London – 11 January 2001, Fulham, London) was an eminent English architect, the son of Nathan Lasdun (1879–1920) and Julie (''née'' Abrahams; 1884–1963). Probably his b ...
for his Keeling House and National Theatre, London.
*Periodicals: 2,000 architectural titles collected, with complete sets of ''
Architectural Review
''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism ...
'', ''
Architects' Journal
''Architects' Journal'' is an architectural magazine published in London by Metropolis International.
History
The first edition was produced in 1895. Originally named ''The Builder's Journal and Architectural Record'', from 1906 to 1910 it was ...
'', and ''
Country Life''.
*Photographs: 1.5 million items, including the archive of the Architectural Press. Items date from the 19th century, but with major holdings of 20th-century photographers such as
Eric de Maré,
John Maltby
John Maltby (1936 – 22 December 2020) was a distinguished English sculptor and studio potter.
Education and career
John Maltby was born and brought up in Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire. He attended Clee Grammar School, then went on study f ...
, John Donat and Henk Snoek.
The overcrowded conditions of the library was one of the reasons why the RIBA moved from 9 Conduit Street (where it had been since 1859) to larger premises at 66 Portland Place in 1934. The library remained open throughout
World War II
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 ...
and was able to shelter the archives of Modernist architect
Adolf Loos
Adolf Franz Karl Viktor Maria Loos (; 10 December 1870 – 23 August 1933) was an Austrian and Czechoslovak architect, influential European theorist, and a polemicist of modern architecture. He was an inspiration to modernism and a widely- ...
during the war.
The library is based at two public sites: the Reading Room at the RIBA's headquarters, 66 Portland Place, London; and the RIBA Architecture Study Rooms in the Henry Cole Wing of the V&A. The Reading Room, designed by the building's architect George Grey Wornum and his wife Miriam, retains its original 1934 Art Deco interior with open bookshelves, original furniture and double-height central space. The study rooms, opened in 2004, were designed by
Wright & Wright Architects
Wright & Wright Architects is a British architectural firm, founded in 1994 by Sandy and Clare Wright . The firm is based in Camden Town, London.
Background
The practice was founded by Sandy and Clare Wright in 1994. Since winning a competit ...
. The library is funded entirely by the RIBA but it is open to the public without charge. It operates a free learning programme aimed at students, education groups and families, and an information service for RIBA members and the public through the RIBA Information Centre.
V&A + RIBA Architecture Partnership
Since 2004, through the V&A + RIBA Architecture Partnership, the RIBA and
V&A have worked together to promote the understanding and enjoyment of architecture.
In 2004, the two institutions created the Architecture Gallery (Room 128) at the V&A showing artefacts from the collections of both institutions, this was the first permanent gallery devoted to architecture in the UK. The adjacent Architecture Exhibition Space (Room 128a) is used for temporary displays related to architecture. Both spaces were designed by
Gareth Hoskins Architects
Gareth Dale Hoskins OBE (15 April 1967 – 9 January 2016) was a Scottish architect.
Biography
Born in Edinburgh on 15 April 1967, Hoskins attended George Watson’s College and the Mackintosh School of Architecture at the Glasgow School of A ...
. At the same time the RIBA Library Drawing and Archives Collections moved from 21 Portman Place to new facilities in the Henry Cole Wing at the V&A. Under the Partnership new study rooms were opened where members of the public could view items from the RIBA and V&A architectural collections under the supervision of curatorial staff. These and the nearby education room were designed by Wright & Wright Architects.
In June 2022, the RIBA announced it would be terminating its partnership with the V&A in 2027, "by mutual agreement", ending the permanent architecture gallery at the museum. Artefacts will be transferred back to the RIBA's existing collections, with some rehoused at the institute's headquarters at 66 Portland Place building, set to become a new House of Architecture following a £20 million refurbishment.
RIBA Awards
![R](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/R.I.B.A._plaque%2C_Whitla_Hall_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1556673.jpg)
The RIBA has been awarding the
President's Medals annually since 1836, making them the institute's oldest awards, and possibly the oldest awards worldwide in the field of architecture. The Institute runs many other awards including the
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 ...
for the best new building of the year; the
Royal Gold Medal
The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...
(first awarded in 1848), which honours a distinguished body of work; the
Stephen Lawrence
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
Prize, sponsored by the
Marco Goldschmied Foundation, for projects with a construction budget of less than £1,000,000, and the President's Awards for Research. The
RIBA European Award RIBA European Awards are part of an award program by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Complemented by the RIBA National and International Awards, it rewards "the excellent work being done by RIBA members in the European Union outside the ...
was inaugurated in 2005 for work in the European Union, outside the UK. The
RIBA National Award
RIBA National Awards are part of an awards program operated by the Royal Institute of British Architects, also encompassing the Stirling Prize, the European Award and the International Award. The National Awards are given to buildings in the UK w ...
and the
RIBA International Award
The RIBA International Award is the Royal Institute of British Architects' highest award.
The shortlist for the Lubetkin Prize is made up of the winners of the RIBA International Awards.
Laureates
2011
RIBA International award winners in 2011 ...
were established in 2007. Since 1966, the RIBA also judges regional awards which are presented locally in the UK regions (East, East Midlands, London, North East, North West, Northern Ireland, Scotland, South/South East, South West/Wessex, Wales, West Midlands and Yorkshire). Inaugurated in 2001, the
Manser Medal was renamed the
RIBA House of the Year The RIBA House of the Year, formerly the Manser Medal ''Includes list of winners 2001-2014'' is an award given annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects for "the best new house designed by an architect in the UK".
In 2001, ''Architects' ...
award in 2014.
[ ''Includes list of winners 2001–2014'']
RIBA competitions
RIBA Competitions is the Royal Institute of British Architects' unit dedicated to organising architectural and other design-related competitions.
Architectural design competition
An architectural design competition is a type of design competition in which an organization that intends on constructing a new building invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel ...
s are used by an organisation that plans to build a new building or refurbish an existing building. They can be used for buildings, engineering work, structures, landscape design projects or public realm artworks. A competition typically asks for architects and/or designers to submit a design proposal in response to a given Brief. The winning design will then be selected by an independent jury panel of design professionals and client representatives. The independence of the jury is vital to the fair conduct of a competition.
''RIBA Plan of Work''
The ''RIBA Plan of Work'', first developed in 1963, is a stage-by-stage model considered "the definitive design and process management tool for the UK construction industry".
[RIBA]
RIBA Plan of Work 2020: Overview
accessed 8 August 2021 The latest version is the ''RIBA Plan of Work 2020'', which has eight stages, 0 to 7. This version replaced the 2013 version.
Previously, the ''RIBA Outline Plan of Work 2007'' used letters for each stage (stages A-L) rather than numbers.
RIBA work plan stages are often referred to in architectural, planning and
procurement
Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agency buys goods or serv ...
contexts, for example procurement notices may specify the relevant stages of work for which professional support is required.
Education
In addition to the
Architects Registration Board, the RIBA provides accreditation to architecture schools in the UK under a procedure which validates courses at over 50 educational establishments across the UK. It also provides validation to international courses without input from the ARB.
The RIBA has three parts to the education process: Part I which is generally a three-year first degree, a year-out of at least one year work experience in an architectural practice precedes the Part II which is generally a two-year post graduate diploma or masters. A further year out must be taken before the
RIBA Part III professional exams can be taken. Overall it takes a minimum of seven years before an architecture student can seek
chartered status.
Criticism
Lack of representation
In common with other professional bodies established in the early 19th century, the RIBA was initially a men-only institution. Thomas Leverton Donaldson, the RIBA's first secretary aimed "To uphold ourselves the character of Architects as men of taste, men of science, men of honour";
[Lynne Walker, "Golden Age or False Dawn? Women Architects in the Early 20th century"](_blank)
''English-heritage.org''. Retrieved 17 September 2021. this vision of the masculine architect largely excluded women from the architecture profession for decades. More than 60 years after its foundation, the RIBA first admitted women as members in 1898; the first female member was
Ethel Charles
Ethel Mary Charles (25 March 1871 – 8 April 1962) was a British architect, the first woman to be admitted to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1898.
Early life
Ethel Charles, her sister Bessie Ada Charles (1869–1932) ...
(1871–1962), followed by her sister
Bessie (1869–1932) in 1900.
It was then more than 30 years before the RIBA elected its first woman fellow,
Gillian Harrison
Edith Gillian Harrison (1898–1974), née Cooke, was a British architect.
Early life and education
After Roedean School, she trained at the Architectural Association School of Architecture from 1917 to 1922, where she was one of the first ...
(1898–1974), in 1931,
and a further 77 years before RIBA nominated its first female president,
Ruth Reed
Ruth Reed is a British architect and was the first woman to be elected president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 2009–2011. .
[''Ruth Reed: architect at home'']
''Architects' Journal
''Architects' Journal'' is an architectural magazine published in London by Metropolis International.
History
The first edition was produced in 1895. Originally named ''The Builder's Journal and Architectural Record'', from 1906 to 1910 it was ...
'', 16 September 2008. Retrieved: 17 September 2021. There is no record of any of the buildings designed by the early women members.
In 1985, when under 5% of chartered architects were women, the Women Architects Forum was established. In 1993 the RIBA established a special interest group, the Women Architects Group; in 1999, renamed Women In Architecture, it became independent of the RIBA, which, in 2000, set up its first equality forum, Architects For Change. This became an umbrella group for Women In Architecture, the Society of Black Architects, student forum Archaos and other groups.
In 2017, around 17% of architects were women, up from 8% in 1999.
The RIBA has been criticised by architects outside southeast England as a London-centric organisation which does not reach out to all members in the United Kingdom and beyond.
The organisation has also been accused of
institutional racism
Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health ...
,
of having a "deep, systemic disengagement from the membership", and of lacking transparency.
In March 2022, young architects began a campaign to get the next RIBA president to move beyond "empty slogans and self-serving initiatives" and shake up an institute seen as "out of touch" with the wider profession.
The campaign included members of a grassroots organisation, the Future Architects Front (FAF), and the institute’s Future Architects Steering Group; their preferred candidate, Muyiwa Oki, was named on 6 May 2022.
Days later, the RIBA announced a restriction on new members participating in the elections (starting on 28 June 2022), a rule change described by the FAF as "an outrageous lack of transparency" and "exclusionary tactics".
Also in May 2022, a RIBA director, Dian Small, highlighted the lack of diversity at an RIBA awards event, suggesting black architects "were not invited". On 26 May 2022, the RIBA's first director of diversity and inclusion, Marsha Ramroop, left after 13 months with the organisation.
Governance
Questions about RIBA transparency were also raised by
Alan Jones during his presidency (2019–2021). Between 31 March and 15 June 2020, he temporarily stepped back over a matter in his private life,
reported by the RIBA as a "serious incident" to the
Charity Commission.
After an independent investigation, Jones resumed his role as president on 15 June 2020.
In July 2021, he stepped down as a RIBA trustee, feeling unable to support a proposal to renew the contract of the RIBA chief executive, Alan Vallance,
having made "serious allegations" about Vallance's conduct in February 2020.
Senior figures demanded the body 'come clean' about the conflict saying "The RIBA is becoming an increasingly secretive organisation. ... Confidentiality has been weaponised and woe betide anyone who wants to ask difficult questions...."
A Council Board Advisory Group was established, with a
QC investigating complaints.
Jones told ''Architects' Journal'' that he had come under pressure from senior RIBA figures to resign, and felt that "in terms of
IBA'stransparency and accountability, there is room for improvement."
A RIBA council member, Kerr Robertson, was removed as a councillor in October 2022. Described by ''Architects' Journal'' as a
whistleblower
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
, Robertson had criticised RIBA's board about issues including alleged conflicts of interest, institutional bullying, trustee interference in RIBA election rules changes, and a data breach.
Presidents
Presidents of the RIBA are elected by RIBA members, serve a two-year term and chair the RIBA Council. The post was created in 1835, shortly after the institute's founding. In 2009, 174 years later,
Ruth Reed
Ruth Reed is a British architect and was the first woman to be elected president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 2009–2011. became the institute's first female president.
[
The current RIBA president, serving from September 2021 to August 2023 is ]Simon Allford
Simon Allford (born July 1961) is a British architect, co-founder and director of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), chair of the board of trustees of The Architecture Foundation, and current president of the Royal Institute of British Architec ...
. In August 2022, Muyiwa Oki was named as Alford's successor, set to take office on 1 September 2023.
Secretaries
The role of secretary of the RIBA was established in 1871. Between 1835 and 1870, the secretarial duties of the institute fell to honorary secretaries. Recent and current holders of the role are now referred to as chief executive.
* 1871–1878 Charles Eastlake
* 1878–1896 William H. White
* 1897–1907 William John Locke
* 1908–1943 Sir Ian MacAlister
* 1945–1959 Cyril Douglas Spragg
* 1959–1968 Gordon Randolph Ricketts
* 1968–1987 Patrick Harrison
* 1987–1994 Bill Rodgers
* 1994–2000 Alexander Reid
* 2000–2009 Richard Hastilow
* 2009–2016 Harry Rich
* 2016–2022 Alan Vallance
See also
* Royal Town Planning Institute
The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom, and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was gra ...
* Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists
* Chartered Institute of Building
* Construction Industry Council
The Construction Industry Council (CIC) is the representative forum for professional bodies, research organisations and specialist business associations in the United Kingdom construction industry.
History
The first proposals for a Building Indu ...
* Joint Contracts Tribunal
* RIBA Knowledge Communities
* The Georgian Group
References
Bibliography
* Howard Colvin, H.M. Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840'' (1997)
* Charles Read ''Earl de Grey'' (200
published by Willow Historical Monograph
*
*
External links
RIBA official website
British Architectural Library
The RIBA's books, journals, photographs, drawings and archives collections
RIBA/BALT library catalogue online
RIBA Catalogue locations and current access
RIBA Schools list
RIBA President's Medals Student Awards
RIBApix
Images from the RIBA's collections
RIBA Competitions
RIBA official architecture bookshop
The RIBA Journal
Video clips
RIBA Architecture YouTube channel
RIBA International Dialogues: Architecture and Climate Change Talk series
Video archive of the lectures
NBS TV
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