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History of RIBA and CIAT

Peter Levers
Jan 30, 2017
3 min read

History of RIBA

The Royal Institute of British Architects was founded in 1834 by several prominent architects of the time for...

"the general advancement of Civil Architecture, and for promoting and facilitating the acquirement of the knowledge of the various arts and sciences connected therewith."

(Royal Institute of British Architects, 2009. Charter and Byelaws: The Charter 1837, Supplemental Charter 1971 and Byelaws. 1st Ed. p.2.)

It was originally named as The Institute of British Architects in London and is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but has international members as well. In 1837, it was granted a Royal Charter by King William IV changing the name to The Royal Institute of British Architects in London. The reference to London was eventually dropped in 1892 giving the organisation its current name that it uses today. Supplemental Charters were granted to the institute in 1887, 1909 and 1925 and were eventually revoked and replaced in 1971 by a single Charter.

Royal Institue of British Architects, Unknown. RIBA Logo. [image online] Available at: http://thewall.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/riba-logo.jpg [Accessed 30 January 2017]

In 1934, the RIBA moved to its current purpose-built headquarters at 66 Portland Place in central London. This building was opened by the ruling monarchs at the time, King George V and Queen Mary, at 12:00 on 8 November 1934. The architect was George Grey Wornum who took his inspiration for the building from Ragnar Östberg's Stockholm Town Hall and Gunnar Asplund's Stockholm City Library. He won a competition to design the new headquarters for the RIBA which consisted of 284 entrants. Before the construction of 66 Portland Place, the former headquarters were located at 9 Conduit Street in London.

Chris Redgrave, Unknown. RIBA Headquarters. [image online] Available at: http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/survey-of-london/files/2016/07/DP166340-1024x774.jpg [Accessed 30 January 2017]

In 1848, the RIBA established the Royal Gold Medal. It is an annual award that recognises an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture and is awarded on behalf of the British monarch. It is awarded for a body of work rather than an individual building and is not limited to just architects, with previous winners including engineers, writers, theoreticians, archaeologists, painters and even the city of Barcelona.

Royal Institute of British Architects, Unknown. Royal Gold Medal. [image online]

Available at: https://www.architecture.com/RIBA/Assets/Images/Awards/RGM660.jpg [Accessed 30 January 2017]

The RIBA introduced the Stirling Prize in 1996 and is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is presented to the architects of the building that has made the greatest contribution to the evolution of architecture in the past year. The architect awarded the annual prize must be a RIBA member however, the building can be anywhere in the European Union.

History of CIAT

The Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists is a membership based organisation and is owned and operated by its members. The Institute has its own Royal Charter and under this Charter the objects are:

"1. To promote, for the benefit of society, the science and practice of Architectural Technology.

2. To facilitate the development and integration of technology into architecture and the wider construction industry to continually improve standards of service for the benefit of industry and of society.

3. To uphold and advance the standards of education, competence, practice and conduct of members of the Institute thereby promoting the interests, standing and recognition of Chartered Members within the industry and the wider society."

(Chartered Institute of Architectural Technology, 2005. Royal Charter. 1st Ed. section.2.)

Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists, 2010. CIAT 2010 Logo. [image online]

Available at: http://dransfield.org.uk/images/CIAT2010logo.jpg [Accessed 30 January 2017]

The Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists was formed after a report by the Royal Institute of British Architects was made calling for the establishment of an institute for technicians. As a result of this, the Society of Architectural and Associated Technicians (SAAT) was founded on 12th February 1965. The Society gained a membership of 1,799 technicians in its first year.

SAAT changed its name to the British Institute of Architectural Technicians (BIAT) on 1st May 1986 to reflect the specialisms of Architectural Technicians, and again in 1994 to the British Institute of Architectural Technologists to acknowledge the development of Architectural Technologists both in practice and educationally. A new technician grade was introduced by the institute in 2002 to recognise the professionally qualified Architectural Technician.