RIAS picks Karen Anderson as next president

The Royal Incorporation of Architects In Scotland has named Karen Anderson as its next president and successor to Chris Stewart.

Anderson, who is a founding partner of Glasgow-based practice Anderson Bell Christie Architects, was elected unopposed after no other candidates for president were nominated.

She will become RIAS president-elect – which is a newly-created role – next month after her election is ratified and approved by the RIAS Council. She will take over from current president Stewart, of Collective Architecture, for a two-year term in June next year.

Anderson will be only the third female president in RIAS’ 107-year history. Its first female president, Joyce Deans, held the post from 1991-93. More recently Christina Gaiger of Helen Lucas Architects served as president from 2020 to 2022.

Anderson said she was “delighted and honoured” at the prospect of becoming RIAS’ next president.

“I am looking forward to supporting Chris Stewart as president-elect, and to spending time with members to discuss the issues that matter most to them and to architecture in Scotland,” she said.

Stewart said Anderson would be an “outstanding” president, and that he was very much looking forward to working with her over the coming year.

“The breadth of her nominations signals that she will be a very popular RIAS president, and the breadth of her experience over many years should give us all confidence that she will be extremely effective,” he said.

Anderson has advised the Scottish Government on planning, place and architecture-related policy; chaired Architecture and Design Scotland from 2010 to 2018; and taught architecture at the University of Strathclyde.

More recently, she co-founded the Hirta portal for Scottish design and collaborative working.