As his RIBA presidency ends, Muyiwa Oki reflects on milestones and unfinished business

Muyiwa Oki’s presidency of the RIBA has been defined by a series of firsts. He is the institute’s first salaried architect to take the role, the first black president, and also the youngest in its near 200-year history. These milestones alone make his two years in office historic. But as Oki steps down, he is keen to reflect on what has been achieved and where the profession still has work to do.

In conversation with BD, he talked about his commitment to digital innovation, his concerns over the withdrawal of government funding for apprenticeships, and the importance of workplace culture. He also highlighted moments of pride, including the awarding of the Royal Gold Medal to Lesley Lokko and SANAA, and chairing the Stirling Prize jury which selected the Elizabeth Line.

Oki insists that his presidency, which end this week, has been about broadening the conversation, from workplace wellbeing to public engagement and the value of reuse.

A milestone presidency

Oki’s election was widely seen as a symbolic moment. Backed by the activist group Future Architects Front, he campaigned on a platform of change, promising to speak for younger and under-represented voices in the profession. His victory over more established figures was hailed as a break with tradition and a sign that the RIBA might finally be opening itself up to a wider constituency.

Oki says he valued the year as president-elect for the breathing space it gave him to prepare. “It actually takes the heat off a little bit and gives you the time to start thinking about how you’re going to get your biennial plan across, set it and socialise it across the industry, across the organisation,” he reflects.

That handover period allowed him to frame his own agenda, but also underlined the importance of continuity. Alongside new priorities, he has been careful to back ongoing projects.

Most notably, he has supported the House of Architecture initiative set in motion by his predecessor Simon Allford. As he puts it, “we are still doing part of his legacy project, which is the House of Architecture, and I’ve embraced that.”

But from the start Oki set out his own ambitious agenda. In one of his first interviews he said: “What I would like to see is every architect seeing themselves as an advocate for change,” tying his platform to climate action and reuse.

With that mandate came heightened expectations. Within months of taking office, Oki was criticised in some quarters for not being forceful enough on workplace rights, a central theme of his campaign. He responded by launching the Workplace Wellbeing taskforce to address pay, long hours and poor conditions across the profession, saying: “Workplace wellbeing is more than a nice-to-have. It’s essential to the survival and success of architecture”.

It’s clear that the symbolism of his election has been matched by a determination to show that the RIBA can begin to address long-standing problems in the profession. His focus on pay and conditions, as well as what’s actually happening in the workplace, has since won backing from established voices. In-coming RIBA president Chris Wilkinson and chair of the RIBA board Jack Pringle have both recently told BD they view Oki’s prioritisation of this issue as significant and something that must continue beyond his presidency.

A president with a day job

Oki is the first salaried architect to serve as RIBA president. Unlike his predecessors, who were typically established industry names with years of experience running their own practices, he combined the role with his day job at Mace. He was also a beneficiary of a recent rule change that made the presidency a paid role, introduced specifically to enable salaried architects or those leading smaller practices to put themselves forward.

Throughout his term he continued to work within the consultancy arm of Mace. That made him unusual among recent presidents in still having a line manager to report to while also representing the profession at its highest level. “It’s been a challenge, especially at the beginning,” he admits. “I sometimes had to take special dispensation to go to things like party conferences, which none of my senior colleagues were used to.” Even so, he says Mace gave him “quite a lot of latitude to get on with the RIBA job” and “plug in as best as I could back at the office.”

As his presidency progressed, Oki moved into a new position at Mace as Senior Architectural Manager that allowed greater flexibility. “I transitioned into a role that was more client-facing and a little more hands-off from the projects side, which meant I could contribute better to both the RIBA and my work,” he explains.

His grounding at Mace has shaped his outlook, embedding a focus on technical delivery and systems. That perspective helped steer one of the central themes of his presidency: digital innovation. He describes one of the “highlights” of his term as “putting digital technology on the map within the industry.” This became especially relevant as artificial intelligence began to dominate industry debate. “AI became a big topic just as I took office, so we set up a generative design and data expert group, and we’re now publishing reports. It’s about moving digital from the sidelines to being front and centre.”

Education, apprenticeships and access

Oki has consistently highlighted the barriers facing those trying to enter the profession. The government’s decision to cut funding for Level 7 apprenticeships for those over 21 is a particular frustration.

These apprenticeships were seen as one of the most effective ways to widen access, providing a paid route through training for those without the financial backing to study full-time. Their loss is therefore being keenly felt, especially among those entering the profession later in life or from less advantaged backgrounds.

“There’s still more to be done on Level 7 apprenticeships,” he says. “We pushed and pushed, but the government doesn’t have the money to fund them. Yet they are crucial for architects.”

He links this directly to ongoing reform of architectural education by the ARB. Oki has argued for a faster route to registration, bringing architecture into line with other professions. “One thing we’re really excited about is bringing forward a five-year route to the register,” he says. “That way you enter the profession as a qualified individual, similar to engineers.” For him, reform is not about replacing the traditional pathway, but about creating “options and flexibility, not a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Retrofit and roadshows

Retrofit sat near the centre of Oki’s platform. He planned several roadshows on the subject in conjunction with what was still then The Prince’s Foundation, but in the end delivered two, including one in Fleetwood in October 2023, covered by BD, and another more recently in Wiltshire.

He says the presidency gave him scope to push reuse and decarbonisation into the RIBA conversation, but resources and time were finite. Like many in similar leadership roles, he found himself starting “quite a lot of things” but unable to pursue every initiative at the depth he might have wanted. The challenge of balancing competing demands, and of coordinating two large institutions, brought frustrations that will be familiar to many.

But Oki also points to ongoing collaboration with the recently renamed The King’s Foundation as an important achievement of his presidency. For Oki, this marks a contrast with the more adversarial relationship that once existed between the RIBA and the then Prince of Wales, when disagreements over architectural style dominated the debate. He reflects that while “it was not an objective” he set out with, the relationship is now warm and productive.

Central to the new collaborative approach has been Oki’s direct engagement with Sarah Robinson, an architect and associate director at The King’s Foundation, alongside a formal memorandum of understanding that sets the framework for joint work. As Oki puts it, the agreement “gives us a framework to work with and ensures that both organisations continue to be happy with the outputs.”

Public engagement and honours

Oki says one of the lessons of his presidency has been the need to set clearer expectations for the role, particularly around engagement with members and the public. “What are the minimums, the minimum service levels or however you want to put it,” he reflects. For him, that has meant establishing a more structured programme of visits outside London.

“We have divided the country up into 12, the world into four, and I have tried as much as possible to see all of them,” he says. “I haven’t made it to all, but there’s a calendar now that goes with that.” He believes this framework should endure as part of the baseline commitment for future presidents. “So that we can say this is sort of the core thing that you have to do – that’s to try and visit six regions during each year in office.”

Awards and public recognition feature strongly in how Oki reflects on his term. Among the highlights, he points to “giving the Royal Gold Medal to a black woman,” referring to Lesley Lokko, and to “SANAA for their fantastic work.” For him, these choices reflected an effort to broaden who and what the institute chooses to elevate.

He connects this directly to his wider focus on communication and tone. For Oki, leadership has depended on “the personal touch and the communication,” and he says he has tried to move the conversation about architecture “from just style to about problem solving and the way it makes people feel.”

For Oki, public-facing activity of the institute and president matters because it helps position architecture in everyday life. If honours and events can shift attention from style towards impact, he argues, they serve their purpose.

The 2024 Stirling Prize decision

As chair of the 2024 Stirling Prize jury, Oki oversaw the selection of the Elizabeth Line. He acknowledges that choosing major infrastructure drew criticism in some quarters, referring to giving the prize to “train stations… to some people’s disdain.”

He frames the decision in terms of public value. In discussing awards, he says the aim was to raise “awareness of architecture and… the power [that] good design… has in impacting on people’s lives.” He characterises the Elizabeth Line as “super successful,” and, like many, seems to regard it as a reminder of what a different version of Britain might look like – one willing to invest in civic infrastructure and design quality at scale.

That position aligns with the broader theme he returns to elsewhere in the interview, of architecture as delivering problem-solving and civic value rather than simply formal expression. The prize, in this reading, is a platform to prompt a wider conversation about the kinds of projects that shape daily life for millions. The controversy in this case arguably becomes part of that conversation, not a distraction from it.

Looking ahead

Looking forward, he speaks with enthusiasm of his ongoing role at Mace. He has also received recognition beyond the profession, including a recent honorary degree from Lancaster University for helping to widen participation in architecture. A book could be in the offing, although he has not yet settled on a subject.

Asked about priorities for his successor, he points back to workplace culture, education reform and climate action. These, he argues, are areas where momentum has been created but where more remains to be done. His hope is that the institute “encourage architecture that is accessible, easy to use,” and that the RIBA continues to make space for a wider range of voices.

Oki’s two years as president have been defined by firsts: the first salaried architect, the first black architect and the youngest ever to hold the role. He acknowledges the symbolic weight of these milestones but stresses that the task has always been to broaden the conversation. In his words, “it’s about architecture and… architecture is about people.”

For Oki, that means the RIBA should be focused on championing work that improves everyday life, supports inclusion and accessibility, and demonstrates the social value of architecture rather than treating it as an abstract or purely stylistic pursuit.

As he steps aside, he leaves behind a profession still grappling with change, but also one where the boundaries of what leadership looks like have been permanently widened. 

>> Also read: ‘Communicating the value of architecture’: why Muyiwa Oki wants to shift the debate on reuse

>> Also read: ‘I don’t seek permission, I ask for forgiveness’ – Muyiwa Oki on his plans for his RIBA presidency