I want to reverse RIBA’s centralised structure, says Ben Derbyshire

The RIBA’s centralised structure must be turned on its head if new life is to be breathed into the institute, its next president has said.

At the same time architects must take control of post-occupancy data to lift themselves up the professional food chain, he said.

Ben Derbyshire, who was elected on a turnout of just 15%, has made re-engaging the apathetic membership a priority of his presidency.

In his first in-depth interview since the vote, he said he regards the 85% who didn’t vote as his constituency and says it is vital to get them back on board.

He announced plans to reverse the “flow of energy” so that initiatives are generated by architects in the field and enabled by Portland Place, rather than head office expecting members to support its ideas.

“The best way to achieve the RIBA’s purpose of advancing architecture is through the activities of architects themselves because they are ingenious, innovative, clever and produce beautiful outcomes, and they do it all over the place and very successfully,” he said.

The thing we have to work on is where architecture and design have slid down the supply chain

Ben Derbyshire

Architects are already heavily involved in their communities, curating exhibitions, running consultations, charrettes and awards. That energy is what the RIBA should be promoting, he says.

“The energy should flow in the other direction, from Portland Place as an enabling hub to the centres where people practise.”

In his interview with BD, Derbyshire outlines plans to spend his year as president elect touring the country. He wants to meet architects in their studios – rather than regional branches of the RIBA – and talk about “the ways they want to contribute to advancing architecture in their marketplace”.

“I know people will come if I’m talking about something sufficiently interesting,” he added.

Derbyshire said another key aim for his presidency was for the RIBA to become a repository of post-occupancy evaluation so architects can present clients with evidence of what works.

“This way we’ll claw our way back up the value chain,” he said. “The thing we have to work on is where architecture and design have slid down the supply chain in influence, authority and remuneration.

“A lot of people are fearful of my approach to collaboration but it isn’t about abdicating our position,” he says. “It requires leadership, authority, real competence and a willingness to engage.

“When architects get themselves into right relationships they deservedly enjoy great respect but a lot of architects are not in right relationship with constructors or clients and I hear a lot of distressing stuff about architects adding cost,” he said.

“There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what design means. That’s where we need to work.”

Read the full interview here.