Archinect - News

'All architects need to be agents of change': Muyiwa Oki takes office as RIBA's youngest and first-ever Black President

2023-08-31T20:16:00-04:00

Muyiwa Oki has officially taken office as the first-ever Black President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, marking the end of Simon Allford’s tenure and heralding a new way forward for the 189-year-old organization as it aims itself toward a more progressive agenda.

The historic feat is added to by Oki's status as the youngest-ever architect to hold the title. The 32-year-old University of Sheffield graduate and Senior Architect at Mace Ltd was swept into office last year on a platform of change, including a mandate for compensation oversight, students’ mental health, and other pushes tied to his campaign promise of being a “drama-free president who enacts positive, ethical, and progressive change.”

Oki used his newfound platform to call for “a fundamental shift” in architecture, adding that the profession “must go further and faster on innovation and change, considering the scale and complexity of the challenges in society” in order to “demonstrate its relevance and imp...

Angry letter from Architects Climate Action Network ignites controversy over 'greenwashing' and the 2022 Stirling Prize shortlist

2022-07-29T12:35:00-04:00

A public rebuke from the UK-based activist group Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN) has triggered an enlivened debate online around greenwashing and the 2022 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist after the initial group of projects was revealed last week.

Two London area residential projects included in the six-project shortlist — Panter Hudspith’s Orchard Gardens and Hopkins Architects’ 100 Liverpool Street — were given as examples of what the environmental group called “architecture that pollutes the planet.”

ACAN called out the former over its involvement in the demolition of the Heygate Estate as part of developer Lendlease’s Elephant Park ‘regeneration’ scheme, which helped displace some 80 percent of council housing residents in the SE17 postal code. In response, Panter Hudspith said: “It’s the job of the RIBA to judge buildings on their architectural quality with environmental credentials being an ever-increasing criteria in their assessment. So it seems unreasonable to suggest...

RIBA's new diversity chair says it's not adequately funding a 'priority' EDI initiative

2022-07-12T16:19:00-04:00

The ability of perhaps one of the world’s most influential architectural organizations, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), to address issues of diversity and inclusion within the industry has once again come under scrutiny after news that one of its supposedly priority projects has yet to receive additional funding to proceed.

The Architects’ Journal is reporting that RIBA’s Finding and Accessing Architecture group chair, Femi Oresanya, expressed his concerns over an overall lack of funding for a project that a RIBA executive had apparently told him was of top priority during a Council meeting held on June 28th.

According to the Journal, the project was supposed to entail a matching program that provided students with work experience opportunities as overseen by the group and Oresanya. President Simon Allford and chair Jack Pringle reiterated the known financial straits of the organization before the former proposed providing additional funding for the project via a s...

RIBA releases new finalist questionnaire ahead of its controversial 2022 presidential election

2022-06-21T15:28:00-04:00

As the organization continues the vetting process for a new President, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today published a new questionnaire with the three final candidates vying to replace its current leader Simon Allford.

Allford’s tenure is coming to a close, with quite a bit of controversy surrounding the election of his replacement. In May, the organization changed the rules governing that election to exclude members who joined RIBA after April 23rd from voting altogether. This led to accusations of voter suppression from the consortium of the grassroots organizers pushing RIBA to install a younger architectural worker at the top to properly address exploitation within the industry. Perhaps ironically, Allford himself recently lamented an organizational culture in which “too few of our members vote and even fewer stand.”

The three candidates each answered the same four-question prompt, which asked them first to name their top three priorities, followed by an ...

Balkrishna Doshi receives RIBA Gold Medal in virtual ceremony

2022-06-15T16:40:00-04:00

Renowned Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi has been formally presented with the 2022 Royal Institute of Architects (RIBA) Royal Gold Medal in a virtual ceremony hosted by the organization and President Simon Allford.

Featuring video tributes from Frank Gehry, Álvaro Siza, and Benedetta Tagliabue, the ceremony honored the 7-decade body of work created by the 2018 Pritzker laureate in a presentation broadcast simultaneously from RIBA’s 66 Portland Place headquarters and the architect’s self-designed 41-year-old Sangath studio in Ahmedabad.

Previously on Archinect: Pritzker Prize laureate Balkrishna Doshi's plea for a Biological City

“What a great honour! The news of this award brought back memories of my time working with Le Corbusier in 1953 when he had just received the news of getting the Royal Gold Medal,” the architect said, speaking of his luminary early mentor. “I vividly recollect his excitement to receive this honour from Her Majesty. He said to me metaphorically, ‘I wonder ho...

New standard for verifying UK buildings as net-zero carbon on the horizon

2022-06-01T17:02:00-04:00

A cross-industry coalition, representing stakeholders across the built environment, has come together to develop a standard for verifying buildings in the UK as net-zero carbon.

Called the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, it provides a single, agreed methodology for proving built assets are net-zero carbon and in line with the UK’s climate targets. The leading industry organizations behind this initiative include BBP, BRE, the Carbon Trust, CIBSE, IStructE, LETI, RIBA, RICS, and UKGBC.

The metrics used to evaluate net-zero carbon performance will include energy use, upfront embodied carbon, and lifecycle embodied carbon, along with space heating/cooling demand and peak load. The Standard will cover both new and existing buildings with performance targets that align with Britain’s 2035 emissions target to reduce by 78% and its 2050 net-zero target. It will also cover the procurement of renewable energy and the treatment of residual emissions, including carbon offsetting. The ...

RIBA sparks outcry from activists by tightening election voting rules for new members

2022-05-12T11:48:00-04:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has changed its election rules for the 2022 Presidential election, meaning those who joined the institute after April 23rd are not able to vote. The move, first reported by the Architects' Journal this week, has sparked outrage from a grassroots campaign to elect an architectural worker to the role, who describe the move as an exclusionary tactic.

In the previous RIBA Presidential election, held in 2020, the election rules stated that “the electorate shall comprise the current Members of the RIBA in all categories (save for Honorary Fellows).”

This therefore allowed RIBA chartered members (qualified architects), RIBA associate members (with a Masters qualification in the UK or EU), RIBA affiliate members (with an Undergraduate qualification in the UK), and RIBA student members (currently studying at university), to all cast a vote.

'Architectural worker' Muyiwa Oki chosen to challenge for RIBA presidency

2022-05-06T14:59:00-04:00

Oki, a qualified architect at global construction company Mace, has been chosen by an informal collective of early-career architects, students and architectural activists keen to shake-up the institute and move it beyond ‘empty slogans and self-serving initiatives’.

The campaigning collective behind Muyiwa Oki’s nomination includes grassroots organization Future Architects Front (FAF), past and current RIBA Council members, and RIBA’s Future Architects members.

As previously reported by Archinect, the group announced in March its intentions to put forth a “drama-free RIBA president who enacts positive, ethical and progressive change” as well as someone who would better address issues such as employment rights and climate change. This, the collective believes, would come from an early-career architectural worker who is likely to be more active and connected to these concerns.

Previously on Archinect: A group of UK architects is pushing for youth movement at the top of RIBA’s leadership

Oki, who obtained his Bachelor and Master of Architecture from The University of Sheffield, with previous experience at Grimshaw, will challenge for the position left by current president Simon Allford when his term ends in 2023.

However, he still needs to acqui...

RIBA unveils shortlisted firms to lead 66 Portland Place HQ refurbishment

2022-03-03T13:45:00-05:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has revealed a shortlist of seven teams in the running to lead the refurbishment and modernization of its 66 Portland Place headquarters in London.

RIBA announced the planned redesign in October in a move that aims to reimagine the use of its buildings as a majority of its workers report that they prefer to work from home due to the pandemic. In January, RIBA Chartered Practices formally issued a tender for practices to submit expressions of interest to help develop a brief, including design options and budget proposals to create a fully accessible, more flexible, and sustainable building. RIBA also wants to establish three new gallery spaces. The winning team is expected to lead the project and coordinate the design team appointed to deliver the refurbishment.

Previously on Archinect: RIBA is officially looking for architects to overhaul its aging 66 Portland Place headquarters

The project forms part of RIBA’s House of Architecture ...

RIBA is officially looking for architects to overhaul its aging 66 Portland Place headquarters

2022-01-12T17:21:00-05:00

The search is officially underway in what could turn out to be one of the most significant design contests of the next year following an update from the UK’s largest architectural organization.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has formally issued a tender for any and all professionally chartered practices to submit expressions of interest in the redesign of its art deco 66 Portland Place headquarters in London.

The Institute announced the redesign in October as a means of delivering on President Simon Alford’s campaign promise to turn the 87-year-old structure designed by George Gray Wornum into “a house of architecture.”

The organization is in the process of selling off its adjacent 76 Portland Street offices after recently reporting a budget deficit and staffing changes related to the effects of COVID-19 on the economy. With more than 89% of its workers reporting that they feel more comfortable working from home during the pandemic, RIBA has decided on a fundamen...

RIBA is looking to sell property, refurbish headquarters according to new president

2021-10-01T17:08:00-04:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced two major changes that will help it restructure and rebound following recent economic losses.

The institute will shed staff and sell its surplus property as it looks to redevelop its 66 Portland Place headquarters according to reports published today in The Architect’s Journal and Building Design.

RIBA is currently facing a budget deficit after reported earnings for the year 2020 failed to match its £28.2 million expenditure by a figure of about £8 million ($10.8 million).

The organization is now looking to sell its offices at 76 Portland Place in order to reduce overhead after an internal audit reportedly revealed that approximately 89% of full-time staffers feel more comfortable working upwards of three days a week outside of the redesigned administrative center.

In addition to the sell-off, RIBA has also announced a new competition that would completely overhaul its adjacent 87-year-old art deco office originally desi...

Sterling Prize-winning architect Simon Allford elected 2021 RIBA president

2020-08-11T12:49:00-04:00

London-based architect Simon Allford has been elected as the new president of the Royal British Institute of Architects (RIBA). Allford is a founding principal of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris architects, winners of the 2015 Stirling Prize.

According to RIBA, Allford won some 58% of the vote in a landmark election that allowed participation of RIBA's full membership, including students. Despite this wide enfranchisement, however, voter turn out was only 13.2%. Allford beat out four other candidates—Sumita Singha, Valeria Passetti, Nick Moss, and Jude Barber—for the institute's top spot. Starting September 1, Allford will be RIBA's President-elect; He is scheduled to assume the presidency in September 2021.

A statement from Allford published by RIBA is included below:

It is a privilege to have been elected and I look forward to working with members, Council, Board and staff to create a leaner, more open, productive, engaged and reinvigorated RIBA.

We need an institute of ideas with a...