Qualla: Royal Institute of British Architects

Royal Institute of British Architects: Introduction

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Darrelljon, CC0. When the Institute of British Architects gathered for the first time in London in 1834, its secretary articulated a vision: to uphold the character of architects as "men of taste, men of science, men of honour." The gendered language was not incidental. It would be 64 years before the organization admitted its first woman member — Ethel Charles, in 1898. Another 33 years passed before the first woman fellow was elected. And not until 2009, 174 years after the institute's founding, did Ruth Reed become its first female president. The RIBA's history is partly a story of architecture's ambitions, and partly a story of how long those ambitions were shared with only half of humanity.

Image: Darrelljon | CC0

Royal Institute of British Architects: A Library That Sheltered the Modernists

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 14GTR, CC0. The British Architectural Library, established alongside the institute in 1834, is now one of the three largest architectural libraries in the world and the largest in Europe. Its four million items span drawings, photographs, archives, books and models — including the world's la...

Image: 14GTR | CC0

Royal Institute of British Architects: The Building on Portland Place

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Whitegateswood, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1934, a century after the institute's founding, RIBA moved to its permanent home at 66 Portland Place — a Grade II* listed building designed by Wornum and opened by King George V and Queen Mary. The building features sculptures by Edward Bainbridge Copnall and James Woodford o...

Image: Whitegateswood | CC BY-SA 4.0

Royal Institute of British Architects: Awards, Competitions, and the Stirling Prize

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jpnunes71, CC BY 4.0. The RIBA has administered some of the world's oldest architectural awards. Its President's Medals have been given annually since 1836, making them possibly the oldest architectural awards in continuous existence anywhere. The Royal Gold Medal, first awarded in 1848, honors a dist...

Image: Jpnunes71 | CC BY 4.0

Royal Institute of British Architects: An Institution Arguing with Itself

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Blodwen123, CC BY-SA 4.0. With 44,000 members and a London headquarters that has sometimes been perceived as the whole of the organization, RIBA has faced recurring criticism as London-centric, insufficiently transparent, and slow to reckon with its own diversity failures. In 2022, young architects organi...

Image: Blodwen123 | CC BY-SA 4.0