NEWS: RIBA President's Awards for Research 2012 Call for Entries

The RIBA is pleased to call for entries for the RIBA President's Awards for Research 2012|. The deadline for submissions is Monday 14 May at 5pm.

Halving Construction, Demolition and Excavation Waste to Landfill: Action Plan

The waste to landfill Action Plan was launched on 22 June 2011 and looks across the entire construction supply chain and identifies the actions needed to achieve this target and lead to greater resource efficiency. In 2008 12.5 million tonnes of construction, demolition and excavation waste were sent to landfill. The industry has set itself the target of halving this amount by 2012. The Strategic Forum for Construction|, the body responsible for the industry target, established a Waste Subgroup, with representatives from both industry and government and has subsequently developed an Action Plan, supported by WRAP as part of the Halving Waste to Landfill Commitment|. 

Research and Development

The Research and Innovation team undertakes a wide variety of activities, including: the annual high-profile RIBA President's Awards for Research|, Research Symposium|, Knowledge Management (including leading on the key RIBA Knowledge Communities| initiative, and as a consortium partner of the Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network|), and undertaking technical projects.

The department also liaises widely within the construction industry through proactive membership of a number of organisational and pan-industry working groups and committees.

Architectural research

The RIBA promotes research and innovation to advance the knowledge base of the architects' profession, including by:

• encouraging interaction between practitioners and researchers
• facilitating debate
• helping to disseminate research outcomes 

Our work is steered by the Research and Development Committee|.

The paper Architectural Research: Three Myths And One Model| from the committee represents its current thinking about this subject and hopes to provoke further discussion relating to architectural research.

Our departmental mission is 'capturing, sharing, and applying professional knowledge in architecture and the built environment'.

Departmental objectives

• Enhance the RIBA's involvement and reputation in research, knowledge sharing and technical activities.
• Increase the RIBA's external profile and influence, links and representation in other bodies and institutions relevant to architecture and built environment research, knowledge transfer and technical information.
• Encourage and promote liaison between practitioners and the research community in architecture and the built environment.
• Nurture connections between those with a research capability, those with a need for research, and those with funds for architecture and built environment research.
• Publish, and encourage the dissemination, sharing and implementation of the outcomes of research.
• Gather, synthesise and distill relevant technical information, knowledge and resources for the practice of architecture.

The RIBA will take the lead role in instigating, managing and strategically undertaking research in its own name and in partnership with others as appropriate.