Archinect - News

RIBA's House of Architecture plans become clearer with updated Benedetti proposal

2024-11-20T18:05:00-05:00

Plans for the upcoming restoration of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 66 Portland Place headquarters in London have become clearer with the release of an updated proposal detailing the scope of work on the new House of Architecture project.

Benedetti Architects will be leading the project, which was won in 2022 after a short competition. The estimated £58.8 million (about $74.3 million USD) effort will enable full accessibility throughout all 28 levels of the 90-year-old Art Deco building while removing extant fossil fuel-dependent systems to support a push toward net zero. The original George Grey Wornum design has been protected under a historic Grade II* listing since 1970.

Image courtesy Benedetti Architects/RIBA

RIBA says: "[The] House of Architecture brings together three critical areas of our work that need investment, and will deliver on improvements that are fundamental to RIBA’s ongoing mission."

The project adds a new café while reinstating the building’s ...

Rowan Moore reviews new 'Difficult Sites' exhibition on challenging architectural parameters

2024-10-22T12:02:00-04:00

This small but rewarding show is a celebration of architectural skill and ingenuity, spurred on by whatever complexities might arise. Its exhibits include models and drawings supplied by contemporary practices, and taken (albeit, regrettably, only as reproductions) from RIBA’s collections. Some projects seek to soar above the mucky stuff. Others embrace the difficulties, making them into an occasion to create something that would never otherwise have come into being.

Speaking to the more than 20 building projects selected for the show, Moore added: "The qualities of thought on display are as relevant as ever, as the physical demands of climate emergency, and the challenges of providing new housing on a restricted supply of land, bring a whole new level of difficulty to bear. In these circumstances, design is not a luxury but a necessity. It’s beyond the scope of the RIBA exhibition to propose how these vaster challenges can be met, but it demonstrates creative intelligence that can be applied to more than the occasional delightful home."

If you're feeling up to the challenge, 'Difficult Sites: Architecture Against the Odds', which opened on October 11th, will remain on view until March 25th, 2025 at the RIBA Architecture Gallery in London.

London's new Elizabeth Line project wins the 2024 RIBA Stirling Prize

2024-10-16T17:00:00-04:00

The 2024 RIBA Stirling Prize — the annual honor of the UK's best new architecture — has been conferred to the London Underground system's new Elizabeth Line designs from Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation, and AtkinsRéalis.

The official jury citation mentions ten separate Underground stations and their "platform architecture, passenger tunnels, escalators, station concourses, signage, furniture, fittings, finishes and supporting technology" as the fundaments of the "intuitive, frictionless experience" offered by it to the capital's transit users.

The Elizabeth Line, London Underground, by Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation, and AtkinsRéalis. Image: Hufton + Crow

The new Crossrail, which was renamed to honor the late Queen Elizabeth II, was inaugurated in May of 2022 after a massive $25 billion infrastructure investment and covers a large swath of Central London while connecting to the Great Western Main Line and Great Eastern Main Line of the National Rail.

The Elizabeth Line, London Underground,...

Chris Williamson elected as RIBA President

2024-07-02T13:39:00-04:00

Chris Williamson has been elected as the next RIBA President. The co-founder of London-based practice Weston Williamson + Partners prevailed over fellow presidential candidates Funmbi Adeagbo and Duncan Baker-Brown.

From a total of 4,462 votes from RIBA members, Williamson received 1,760 votes in the first round of the election, while Baker-Brown secured 1,502 and Adeagbo 1,200 votes. With Adeagbo eliminated and her votes redistributed in the second round, Williamson edged out a small advantage with 2,008 votes over Baker-Brown, who gathered 1,898 votes.

When asked about his top three priorities by The RIBA Journal during the election campaign, Williamson outlined: "Communications: Our members represent many of the world’s best architects. Increase influence, positioning the profession’s knowledge centre stage; Advocacy: Better support for all practices -helping all Members in their businesses; Education: Make the letters R I B A mean something: provide a real competitive advantage ...

RIBA announces 'once-in-a-generation' House of Architecture investment plan with new $107 million price tag

2024-03-25T19:45:00-04:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has provided an outline to overhaul its 66 Portland Place London headquarters into a “once-in-a-generation” home of the new House of Architecture initiative.

For a reported cost of £85 million ($107.4 million USD), the project from Benedetti Architects will restore the building while creating a new centralized space for its world-leading Collections archive. The initiative was originally announced with a budget of £20 million (around $25 million USD). RIBA says the new figure "includes all project costs such as contingencies, inflation, and fees" for the renovations, whose plan of work required an additional £58.8 million ($74.3 million USD) in outturn costs.

"House of Architecture is about unlocking and opening RIBA to make it — and everything it offers — far more accessible. The proposed investment in our collections, upgrades to our digital platform, and improvements to our landmark building at 66 Portland Place are vital," said ...

RIBA's new Artificial Intelligence Report features revelatory findings about AI within architectural practice

2024-02-29T18:56:00-05:00

The newly published RIBA Artificial Intelligence Report has revealed statistics detailing the architecture industry’s turn towards AI within professional practice using findings from a recent survey of 500+ members. The study also gives clues about the technology’s future and feedback on how new software tools have impacted the design process.

According to the report, 41% of architects in the UK have begun using AI software at least occasionally, with another 43% stating their opinions that it has made the design process "more efficient."

"Our findings show architects are curious and open-minded about AI, and some of us are true pioneers," RIBA President Muyiwa Oki summarized. "By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and a culture of responsible innovation, we can harness the power of AI to create a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable built environment. There’s no turning back."

Oliver Wainwright on RIBA's '100 Women: Architects in Practice,' a new primer for industry-wide change

2024-02-29T13:40:00-05:00

We’re not there yet. In an industry where the gender pay gap has widened in recent years, where all-male panels at conferences are not unusual, and where macho culture still prevails on building sites, a book like this, sadly, still has a place.

Writing for The Guardian, critic Oliver Wainwright says he hopes RIBA’s new publication 100 Women: Architects in Practice, which we previewed in December, will encourage competition judges, academic panels, awards juries, exhibitions organizers, and rebuke “the headhunters who claim women never apply, [...] the clients who say they just can’t find women with the right experience.”

Many of the architects included in the book, namely Mariam Kamara, Suhailey Farzana, and others, are women whose practices are informed by and in service to decolonization in the developing world à la the 2023 RIBA Gold Medal winner Yasmeen Lari and 2021 Soane Medalist Marina Tabassum. (The profiles are divided into 18 geographical "sub-regions" based on the UN's geoscheme.)

The 320-page book was written by Harriet Harriss, Naomi House, Monika Parrinder, and Tom Ravenscroft, with Alison Brooks responsible for the foreword.

AIA and RIBA renew professional agreement pact

2023-12-12T15:08:00-05:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) have announced a continuation of the professional partnership that, put together, impacts more than 140,000 architects in the U.S. and UK combined.

In order to foster collaboration and strive towards better professional work environments and the improvement of the built environment overall, the two groups signed a Memorandum of Understanding that they say will ensure better sharing of knowledge and resources while taking measures to simplify practice areas in both countries.

“AIA is looking forward to our continued cooperation with the RIBA. To create a stronger, more resilient, and equitable world, architects will need to work together, and our relationship will serve to both foster and reflect this collaboration amongst our esteemed members,” AIA EVP/Chief Executive Officer, Lakisha Ann Woods, said at the declaration.

RIBA Chief Executive Dr Valerie Vaughan-Dick (left) and AIA EVP/Chief...

RIBA's '100 Women: Architects in Practice’ profiles the heroines of building change for a new generation

2023-12-10T09:00:00-05:00

Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, a new survey of the 100 most influential women architects working in our time is set to hit the shelves courtesy of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The organization’s new title, 100 Women: Architects in Practice, intends to champion the cause of gender equity in architecture while promoting the contributions of often overlooked or unheralded women architects in more than 70 different countries.

“We wrote this book as a form of peaceful protest not a bloody revolution,” authors Harriet Harriss, Naomi House, Monika Parrinder, and Tom Ravenscroft detailed in the RIBA Journal. “It is the inequitable product of an inequitable profession, and all four authors eagerly await the day when the need for publications like this are rendered obsolete. When that day comes, it will mean that the perennial problem of gender-prejudice in architecture is a thing of the past.”

Related on Archinect: Overlooked; A Reflection on Progress and Equ...

Mæ's John Morden Centre wins the 2023 RIBA Stirling Prize

2023-10-19T19:57:00-04:00

The design for the John Morden Centre in Blackheath, London, by Mæ has just been announced as the winner of the 2023 Stirling Prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

The country’s new ‘Best New Building’ honor was bestowed to the 22-year-old firm’s redesign of the elder care facility located on the site of Grade I-listed Morden College, the original design for which dates to the 1690s and has been attributed to the period’s most significant architect, Sir Christopher Wren.

Photo: Jim Stephenson

The scope of the project involved creating a more sociable, physically active, and less isolating atmosphere in which residents can age in place gracefully. With dramatic effect, the overhaul consolidates formerly diffuse functions at the non-profit care facility into a series of brick pavilions that are connected by the construction of a central timber colonnade.

Photo: Jim Stephenson

A steeply pitched roofline gives the structure an austere but still inviting character. I...

New RIBA manifesto urges lawmakers' action for better practices in the built environment

2023-10-04T16:54:00-04:00

A new "Manifesto for a Better Built Environment" has been published by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), calling on the country’s policymakers to make more urgent priority of the need for better safety, quality, and sustainability in the design and construction of buildings throughout the UK.

The publication was made in advance of the country’s political party conference season, saying that improved regulations, job training, and environmental standards are needed to help boost the national housing stock and achieve other benchmarks governing the whole-life carbon footprint of construction projects and retention of highly-qualified staff in local planning offices.

New RIBA President Muyiwa Oki said: "Well-designed buildings and places enrich our lives, positively impact the environment, and strengthen our communities. Our manifesto highlights the need for conscious and concerted policy action to deliver a built environment that meets peoples’ needs, both now and in t...

UK architects bemoan new trends of big-firm fee ‘undercutting’ and competition from non-registered designers

2023-07-27T03:00:00-04:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has issued a new report detailing a troubling new phenomenon affecting small office practitioners in the UK.

The Architects’ Journal has details on some of the newfound challenges for design contracts from those not included on the UK’s official register and licensed architects who are reeling in a business climate beset by increased competition on the part of their non-professionalized rivals and a dual culture of “constant undercutting” for fees from better-positioned large firms.

RIBA’s Future Trends report from June was the first published indicator of the concerns, which come at a time when market conditions have turned sour across all spectrums of the design sector. Speaking to AJ, London-based NIKJOO principal Alex Nikjoo explained the problem.

“We’ve recently experienced a client looking to use less experienced non-qualified designers for early concept stage design work to keep the consultant fees down, then seeking our help...

New RIBA and Create London commissions debut to boost social life in large East London housing development

2023-07-12T19:28:00-04:00

A pair of new interventions commissioned for East London’s Becontree Estate have debuted this summer as an artistic effort to provide space for residents of the historic community that was at one time considered to be the largest social housing development in the western world.

The first, spread across six locations on the 281-acre estate, uses furniture designed by artists Ivan Morison and Heather Peak in order to create “subtle” spaces for gathering and interaction in areas that had previously been overlooked or underutilized. They say their contribution was made using a “shared vocabulary of basic forms” (cone, cylinder, and slab), and have the simplicity of children’s toys with the equally playful title “Two Cannibals Eating a Clown.”

Image © Thierry Bal

"We wanted to create sculptural forms that also offer rest and contemplation," Morison said. "We stack a cylinder on a cone and call it a table. We put a flat slab on a smaller slab and call it a bench. We put ...

RIBA pauses 66 Portland Place renovation for a year

2023-05-04T16:54:00-04:00

RIBA’s well-publicized overhaul of its longtime 66 Portland Place headquarters building has been put off for at least a year, according to a report published today in the Architects’ Journal.

London-based Benedetti Architects has been in charge of the £20 million ($25 million) renewal scheme, which was supposed to entail a thorough interior remodeling to include a host of modern amenities, including a broadcasting center, for its members and House of Architecture initiative. RIBA President Simon Allford described the project as being both “urgent and essential” at the time of its announcement.

The firm had been selected by the organization over a group of shortlisted submissions that included Hugh Broughton Architects, Hall McKnight, David Kohn Architects, Roz Barr Architects, Feix&Merlin, and four others. A spokesperson for RIBA told AJ they are “reviewing the Stage 1 feasibility study and exploring funding options for a significant capital project.”

Earlier on Archinect: RIBA is ...

Architects Lesley Lokko and Indy Johar recognized in King Charles' New Year honors list

2023-01-03T18:24:00-05:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects has announced that Scottish-Ghanaian architect and academic Lesley Lokko has been awarded an OBE for her services to architecture and education in King Charles III’s first New Year's honors list.

Founder and Director of the African Futures Institute and former Dean of the Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York, Lokko’s growing collection of honors and accolades includes the 2020 RIBA Annie Spink Award and being appointed to curate the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, making her the first Black architect and fourth woman to do so.

Previously on Archinect: Lesley Lokko chosen as curator for 2023 Venice Biennale Architecture Exhibition

Lokko was joined by fellow architect Indy Johar, co-founder of Dark Matter Labs, a nonprofit strategic design and development company, who was awarded an MBE for his services to architecture.

Indy Johar. Image: Dark Matter Labs

Johar also co-founded multi-disciplinary design studio Archi...

RIBA announces Robbie Turner as its new diversity & inclusion chief

2022-11-04T13:30:00-04:00

Another gap in the leadership of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has been filled following the announcement of Robbie Turner as the organization’s new director for diversity and inclusion.

Thompson comes to the position after working for more than 30 years in various roles in the country’s pharmaceutical industry and will begin his term next week, ending an 8-month void for the relatively new RIBA office that was first created in 2021.

His only predecessor Marsha Ramroop left the post in March after only a year that saw her office’s budget significantly impacted by cost-saving efforts the organization had to initiate after posting multimillion pound deficits for the second (and now third) consecutive year.

“Robbie Turner is new to me and my circle in the EDI space, but we've been able to start to get to know each other since I was informed of his appointment,” Ramroop, who is reportedly working on a book about EDI initiatives and architecture for her former employe...

RIBA announces Valerie Vaughan-Dick as its new Chief Executive

2022-11-02T11:57:00-04:00

A void had been filled at the top of one of Britain’s oldest professional organizations after the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced the appointment of Valerie Vaughan-Dick as its new Chief Executive.

The current head of the Royal College of General Practitioners comes to the position in the midst of substantial organizational changes that include the recent election of early-career architect Muyiwa Oki as its youngest-ever President.

Her predecessor, Alan Vallance, stepped down last April after leading RIBA through difficult economic straits and towards a “leaner, more focused and relevant” organization was run on an interim basis by Adrian Dobson and Pamela Harding.

Vaughan-Dick has a Ph.D. in management from the University of London and will bring what the organization called “extensive experience in the built environment” to the position owing to her prior experience at the NHS and London's Wandle Housing Association.

Earlier on Archinect: Early-career archi...

Early-career architect Muyiwa Oki elected as RIBA President

2022-08-02T11:30:00-04:00

Muyiwa Oki has been elected as the next RIBA President. Oki, who was supported by a grassroots movement seeking an early-career architect for the role, overcame opposition from Ecologic Studio’s Sumita Singha and Allies and Morrison’s Jo Bacon, to become RIBA's youngest and first Black president.

Of the 6,020 first preference votes by RIBA members, Oki received 2,456, representing 40%. Bacon received 2,317 (38%), while Singha received 1,247 (20%). When Singha’s votes were excluded and redistributed in the second count, Oki finished with 2,967 (49%) to Bacon’s 2,733 (45%), deeming him elected.

Turnout for the election was 12.4% despite calls by the current RIBA President for greater participation. By comparison, the previous presidential election attracted a turnout of 13.2%, which UK outlet Building Design noted was the lowest turnout for more than a quarter of a century.

Oki ...

Where the RIBA presidential candidates stand on key issues

2022-07-19T12:13:00-04:00

On July 26th, voting closes for the election of the next RIBA president. When the winner commences their two-year term as president on September 1st, 2023, they will be confronted with a list of burning issues across the UK’s architectural profession; and will be expected to publicly lead a response.

Some issues are specific to the UK context: a turbulent national political landscape, the soaring cost of indemnity insurance, and the implementation of new or upcoming UK laws on planning, construction, and emissions, to name a few. Other issues are specific to RIBA itself: an institution which has seemingly lurched from crisis to crisis in recent times, be it on accusations of inadequate diversity, election rule changes, or just this week, questions over a “buried” internal report on bullying.

These UK-specific issues aside, many of the challenges facing the UK professi...

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...

RIBA is launching a new diversity and inclusion radio show

2021-11-11T13:19:00-05:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced that its second annual Inclusion Festival will take the form of a dedicated radio station that will be broadcast live from the bookshop at RIBA’s headquarters in London.

RIBA Radio will run from November 18 through the 26th and will be hosted by former BBC journalist and RIBA’s Director of Inclusion and Diversity, Marsha Ramroop. The show will focus on promoting diversity and inclusion within the field of architecture. Content will include a mixture of music, live and pre-recorded interviews, discussions, and debates, featuring guests from across the worlds of architecture, design, arts, culture, and sport, as well as key leaders from the worlds of EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion).

Guests will include architects Adam Furman, Chris Hildrey, Farshid Moussavi, Clare Nash, Sumita Singha OBE, Head of School and CEO of the London School of Architecture Dr. Neal Shasore, architectural historian Josh Mardell, Bristol May...

RIBA launches annual scholarship opportunity for architecture students totaling £30K

2021-05-03T14:15:00-04:00

To increase scholarship opportunities for students pursuing degrees in architecture, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announces their annual Wren Insurance Association Scholarships.

This funding scheme, launched in 2013, has provided financial support to students in the final year of their Part 2 course. RIBA President Alan Jones expresses thanks to the Wren Insurance Association for their continued support. "Scholarships and bursaries are an important part of our ongoing commitment to support students and reward and retain talent in the profession, and we look forward to seeing the applications received."

Since 2013, the scholarship has been awarded to 40 students. Each scholarship recipient receives £6,000 and a mentorship opportunity during the second year of their Part 2 course by an architect from a Wren-insured practice.

2020 Scholars, pictured clockwise from top left: Amber Godfrey, Richard Aina, Cora McLean, Hunter Doyle, Ayanna Blair-Ford. Image courtesy ...

RIBA president accused of using position to find job for girlfriend

2020-05-11T20:45:00-04:00

Details continue to come to light regarding the ongoing investigation over the abrupt recusal of Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) President Alan Jones following allegations that a "serious incident" had taken place.

Jones announced that he would temporarily step down from his position in April following concerns that whatever it was that took place could potentially harm the financial standing or reputation of RIBA itself. In the weeks that have followed, news reports from the British press indicate that Jones was allegedly taking part in an extra marital affair and that he potentially used his position within the RIBA organization to aid the career of the person he was having an affair with.

The Times reports that Jones was partaking in an affair with a woman, Sanoara Begom, who worked as an architectural assistant and that Jones used his position to help her look for work.

Additionally, a RIBA source tell's the UK's Daily Mail "I understand the allegations involve t...

RIBA sets out to choose a new leader

2020-05-05T13:57:00-04:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has begun the process for selecting a new president following the temporary recusal of current RIBA President Alan Jones. Jones's tenure is set to last through August 2021.

Jones stepped aside from the position in March as news of a "serious incident" involving the Northern Irish architect. The Architect's Journal reports that events surrounding the "incident," which could be tied to an affair and potential blackmail, are being investigated by the police in Northern Ireland.

Previously on Archinect: "RIBA President temporarily steps down due to 'serious incident'." RIBA President Alan Jones. Photo via RIBA

For its part, RIBA is choosing to move ahead with an open call to replace Jones at the scheduled end of his term, while also electing new regional, national, international, and associate council member seats.

In March 2020, the group unveiled a new leadership structure for its RIBA Board, the group that oversees the organization, ...

RIBA elects Alan Jones as its next president, as it faces accusations of silencing criticism from another presidential candidate

2018-08-09T17:21:00-04:00

As one of three finalist candidates, Alan Jones has been elected as the next RIBA President, the highest elected position in UK architecture. As RIBA's current Vice President of Education, Jones will replace incumbent RIBA President Ben Derbyshire starting September 1, 2019 and will serve through 2021. Jones will officially become RIBA President Elect next month.

In his manifesto during the race, Jones wanted to focus on making the Institute more relevant and engaging, and supports equal opportunity for all. In a statement today, he said:

“The RIBA is a fantastic organization with great resources, particularly its staff who I am keen to support more than ever. As individuals and as an institution, we need to come together to make the most of our assets, and make the case for our profession. We need to gather evidence and realize a more significant role and position in business and society. We must focus more on the pertinent issues that will increase the quality of service we provid...

RIBA announces three candidates in the running to be the institute's next President

2018-06-13T15:20:00-04:00

The final candidates in the race to become the next president of the Royal Institute of British Architects have been officially announced. Current President Ben Derbyshire is due to step down from his role in September 2019, at which point his position will be taken over by one of the following three candidates: Philip David Allsopp, Alan Jones, or Elsie Owusu.

Elsie Owusu, who has the support of Sir David Adjaye and Sir Stuart Lipton among others, is known for pushing the institute towards greater inclusivity. In 2015, she prompted RIBA to launch an internal investigation into institutionalized racism and sexism, and at the previous council elections in 2017, helped coordinate an initiative to increase diversity on the council.

In her manifesto, Owusu discusses how architects have become devalued and marginalized. "Whether in innovation of design of much-needed affordable homes; responding to the Grenfell fire disaster; safeguarding EU colleagues or seizing opportunities in the Com...

RIBA to celebrate women in the field by remembering trailblazer Ethel Charles, the first woman to join the organization

2017-06-16T12:39:00-04:00

At the turn of the century, women were rare in the field of architecture—something that, while certainly improved, remains a deeply unfortunate reality of the profession that urgently requires attention and remediation.

A notable exception was Ethel Mary Charles, the first women to join the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), helping pave the way for the thousands of women who’ve followed in her footsteps. On July 5, 2017, RIBA celebrates Charles with #EthelDay, a day of international social media campaigning to recognize the indelible mark that women have left in the field since her day.

RIBA encourages everyone to share a picture of a film of a woman architect you find inspiring (and/or one of their designs), with the hashtag #EthelDay.

“I encourage architects, students and their educators, design professionals and enthusiasts from around the world to join me in celebrating the contribution of women in architecture,” states Jane Duncan, RIBA President and founder of Interna...

Zaha Hadid joins the ranks of RIBA Gold Medalists

2016-02-04T18:11:00-05:00

Following RIBA's announcement back in September, Zaha Hadid was presented with the 2016 Royal Gold Medal yesterday evening...Though particular projects in her practice haven't been without its disputes, Hadid has long been a force in the architectural field. Being the first woman to win on her own accord, the RIBA Gold Medal is a crown jewel to Hadid's illustrious career, as well as another major highlight for women in architecture.

So Far to Go, So Much to Gain – discussing diversity with Elsie Owusu on Archinect Sessions One-to-One #9

2016-02-01T19:36:00-05:00

Based in London, Elsie Owusu OBE runs her own firm (Elsie Owusu Architects), is a national council member at the Royal Institute of British Architects, and is vice chair at the London School of Architecture. But it’s likely that many Archinectors hadn’t heard of Owusu until December of last year, when we reported on claims of institutional racism and sexism she had made against RIBA, alleging that they had rigged an election she was up for in favor of another candidate, who wasn’t an elected council member.

In my correspondence with Owusu to arrange our interview, she analogized the issue this way (paraphrased here): an African-American or minority ethnic female actor (her) being nominated for an Oscar, only to have a white actor who hasn't even made a film "parachuted in" and given an award for Best Supporting Actor.

I wanted to speak with Owusu about her work alongside issues of diversity and exclusion in practice generally, and also at the institutional level of RIBA. We discuss th...

RIBA launches new International Prize for world's best new building, Richard Rogers to chair Grand Jury

2015-12-08T13:43:00-05:00

RIBA is establishing their own award for the world's best new building of the year, naming it the RIBA International Prize. Launched today, the International Prize will be awarded to the building that best "demonstrate[s] visionary, innovative thinking and excellence of execution, whilst making a distinct contribution to its users and to its physical context," regardless of style, scheme type, and budget. According to RIBA, the International Prize was created for "the general advancement of Civil architecture", as stated in their 1837 charter.

Registered architects around the world can send submissions until the February 9 deadline. For the first edition of the prize, submitted buildings must have been completed within the past three years (Jan. 1, 2013 - Feb. 1, 2016). Afterward, the prize will be awarded to a building completed within 2 years.

The full list of the Grand Jury won't be revealed until early 2016, but it includes three notable names so far: Jury Chair Richard Rogers, fo...