2008

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The RIBA launches RIBApedia

Date:

15 August 2008

Press office contact:

Mina Vadon
T: +44 (0)207 307 3761
E: mina.vadon@inst.riba.org

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) today launches RIBApedia, an initiative from the Research and Development Department offering an innovative new resource for studying and research.

Aimed at the architectural research community, RIBApedia will form a collaborative and free source of information that anyone can contribute to. The web pages can be easily edited by anyone who has completed a free registration process.

Utilising the same 'mediawiki' software popularly used by Wikipedia, the tool enables users to generate and update information on a number of topics, including:

  • Study guidance and reading lists
  • Research papers and study venues
  • Research and study awards
  • Profiles of research institutions, funding bodies, and practices engaged in research
  • Profiles of schools of architecture - courses, specialisms, bursaries, and awards
  • Profiles of professional societies including student societies and discounted student membership
  • Links to research and study blogs, journals, and online databases
  • Invaluable guidance on obtaining research funding (including worldwide travel scholarships).

RIBApedia can be accessed at: www.ribapedia.com |

Keith Snook , Director of Research and Technical at the RIBA said:

'The RIBA plays a pivotal role in brokering research and facilitating knowledge sharing in the architectural profession. The Research and Development Department is supporting this through the use of innovative 'Web 2.0' technologies, such as wikis, which offer new methods of collaboration and connection across institutional, professional, and geographical boundaries. Through RIBApedia, we're harnessing the collaborative spirit of 'web 2.0' to foster community-led innovation across the architectural research community. Communication between the wider profession and RIBA is now more than ever a two-way channel.'

Notes to editors

  1. For further press information, please contact Mina Vadon in the RIBA Press Office on 020 7307 3761; email mina.vadon@inst.riba.org
  2. The RIBA first set up a wiki in 2006, which has been used as a 'beta' testing environment open to user feedback, experimentation, and development. As part of the project, the consultancy firm 'Consilian' published an RIBA-commissioned report in 2008 entitled 'Making Connections'. The report evaluated the long-term viability of our wiki and how it can most successfully contribute to the research community. It identified that there is a particular need to connect the research produced and disseminated within the academic community with practitioners' valuable knowledge of the construction industry.  RIBApedia was funded by CETLD, Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning through Design.
  3. For further information about the work of the RIBA's Research and Development Departament, please email research@inst.riba.org or telephone Clare Sinclair on 020 7307 3885