Royal Institute of British Architects

Corporate body

Royal Institute of British Architects

Founded 1834 -

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects and the advancement of architecture primarily in the United Kingdom. The early work of the RIBA focused on fees, practice standards and ethics for architects. The RIBA is still concerned with these areas, but its activities have widened to include training, architecture prizes, publishing and the promotion of excellence in architecture. It is also lobbies the British government on architectural issues. It does not receive any government funding but relies on its members, sponsors and on charitable trading operations to fund its work.
Originally named the Institute of British Architects in London, it was founded in 1834 by several prominent architects. The Royal Charter for the institute was granted in 1837 by the Privy Council during the reign of King William IV. After the grant of the royal charter the name was altered to Royal Institute of British Architects in London, eventually dropping the reference to London in 1892. The purpose of the Royal Institute was set out in the Royal Charter and stated as being ‘the general advancement of Architecture, and for promoting and facilitating the acquirement of the knowledge of the various arts and sciences connected therewith’.
In 1848, the Royal Gold Medal award was created. The original idea for the medal was that the medal would be a prize given for an architectural competition for the institute’s new headquarters. Though the office of Queen Victoria gave royal approval for the medal, only 11 entries were received for the competition, none of which were deemed good enough for the prize. After consultation with Prince Albert, it was decided to repurpose the medal and award it to distinguished architects for work of high merit, or for some distinguished person whose work has promoted the advancement of architecture.
In 1894, the first RIBA journal was published. It is widely regarded as the UK’s leading magazine on architecture and it is still available today in print and online.
In 1934 RIBA moved to its current purpose-built headquarters at Portland Place in central London.
In the 1960s the RIBA began to develop as a regional organisation and the Eastern Region office in Cambridge was the first to open in 1966.
In 1996, the RIBA instigated the Stirling Prize for outstanding architecture. Recognised as the most prestigious architecture award in Britain, the award has been televised since 2015.
In 2014, the RIBA opened its architectural gallery. The gallery is a public exhibition space featuring the best of British architecture. The gallery has a permanent exhibition created in conjunction with the Victoria & Albert Museum that tells the story of world architecture over 2,500 years.
The RIBA publishes its own books on architecture and buildings and it has its own bookshop. The RIBA is also a big supporter of quality training and offers a varied program of CPD courses for architects. Students studying architecture at degree level must complete courses that follow the RIBA levels 1 & 2 training and are provided at university by RIBA validated trainers.

The RIBA website, particularly: https://www.architecture.com/about/history-charter-and-byelaws.
The designing buildings website page on RIBA: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Royal_Institute_of_British_Architects_RIBA