Memo to Members – Tuesday 1 November, from Simon Allford, RIBA President

Morning all.

I hope you had a good weekend, and that some of you were able to take a break over half-term. I was pleased to take some time off with my family. As ever the news agenda and RIBA activity have continued! 

So, first-up the appointment of our new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. Reacting to the news, I have called on our new PM, to bring reassurance and stability during these tumultuous times. Facing soaring inflation and energy prices alongside housing and climate crises – it will be no mean feat. But, I have urged the Government to remember that buildings are long term assets - critical to our quality of life and wellbeing. And that as architects we stand ready - alongside the wider built environment sector - to work with the Government to create a better future for all. Read my full response here. We have also responded to the Government’s net zero review. Our response highlighted our key sustainability policy positions and called on the government to set operational energy and embodied carbon targets for new buildings, undertake Post Occupancy Evaluations, and tackle energy demand by introducing a National Retrofit Strategy. Read our full response.    

Earlier this month we published the findings from our latest Future Trends report. Surveying a cross section of members on workloads and staffing levels, the index recorded its lowest score (-17), outside of lockdowns, since the great recession of 2009. Looking at the figures our Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, noted the impact of global issues including the war in Ukraine on the fall in architects’ confidence. Read the full report alongside further expert analysis and guidance from Adrian. 

Looking ahead, at the beginning of November we’ll be opening our latest exhibition Long Life, Low Energy: Designing for a Circular Economy at 66 Portland Place. The exhibition tackles material waste and regenerative construction and will draw on our collections to reveal the nature and recent history of demolition. My hope with this show is to interrogate circular economy principles and conversations around material-use to take us closer to our goal of net zero.   

On this note, I am pleased to also update that alongside other RIBA representatives, I will be heading to Egypt for the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in a couple of weeks. I look forward to taking part in fruitful discussions about how we, alongside our global built environment counterparts, can do more to tackle the climate emergency. Updates on our activities will follow.   

More from me on 14 November. 

Best, 

Simon