Board Bulletin – May 2024: A note from RIBA Board Chair, Jack Pringle
As Chair of RIBA’s Board of Trustees, I want to update you as regularly as possible with key developments and discussions relating to RIBA’s core activities and direction of travel.
Much of our recent communication has been about House of Architecture – our ambitious investment programme that will unlock our world-class collections, upgrade our digital technology and sensitively restore our London headquarters so that you, our members, and visitors can use it effectively.
This has been a huge focus for the Board over recent months, and I’m really encouraged by the ideas and support we continue to receive as our plans are developed. If you would like to know more or share your feedback, please join an online session.
This is a once in a generation opportunity to make architecture more accessible; and to galvanise our mission to support architects to make the future a better place.
But it’s not the only thing we’ve been working on.
In this note, I’d like to update on MIPIM , our Education and Practice Away Day, our influencing work, and the Principal Designer Register.
In March, we attended MIPIM with 28 Chartered Practices – a valuable opportunity to engage with global real estate players, share expertise, and bring the voice of architects to the table. Thank you to everybody that supported us.
Next, I want to thank everybody who contributed to Interface2, our Education and Practice Away Day focussing on culture, inclusion and diversity within education and its interface with practice. This was an exceptionally useful event, bringing together voices from across the sector to consider how we can, through tangible and practical means, build a more equitable and inclusive future for the profession. As a Board, we will continue to advocate for a fair and inclusive education system.
Our influencing work remains a core focus. So far this year we’ve responded to eight government inquiries and consultations on issues ranging from the Future Homes and Buildings Standards to planning system reform. We’ve held numerous meetings with key stakeholders, including roundtables with the Housing Minister, Lee Rowley, on the planning system and Lord Callanan on the circular economy. Both the RIBA President and I met with the Office for Place to discuss how we can deliver better communities through quality design and utilising architects’ skills; and, earlier this week, we hosted a Creative Industries Council meeting, attended by Lucy Fraser, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Kemi Badenoch, Secretary of State for Business and Trade.
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We have a clear influencing agenda, focussed on the issues that matter the most – sustainability, planning, procurement, building safety, quality design and housing.
We’ve earned a great reputation for producing quality policy research, drawing on the expertise of our profession, and I look forward to sharing our latest report into funding the next generation of social housing very soon.
Next, I’d like to briefly touch on the RIBA Principal Designer Register – our certification scheme for architects to demonstrate the specific competences required to undertake Principal Designer duties under both the CDM Regulations and the new Building Regulations.
Delivered through RIBA Academy, the course has already attracted more than 900 Chartered Members since launching last year. I believe this is a huge opportunity for architects to take the lead, as qualified design professionals, and for the profession to demonstrate a collective commitment to a safer built environment. Of course, there will be challenges – managing liability through the right forms of appointment, getting the right fees, keeping PI insurers informed, developing the right skill sets and management tools, ensuring that responsibility comes with authority – but the role can re-position our profession as the guiding hand of the design and construction process.
I hope this provides a helpful overview of recent highlights. As ever, I invite feedback directly (via Jennifer.Goldsmith@riba.org), and look forward to updating you again shortly.
Best wishes,
RIBA Board Chair