House of Architecture

It's a project to make architecture more accessible for everyone – our members, our profession, and the world.

With major investment, and galvanised by our rich history, changes will go further to support architects make the future a better place. House of Architecture reinforces our identity as an outward-looking cultural institution. It will help us promote deeper understanding and appreciation of architecture among a diverse audience and celebrate our members' work.

We are investing in:

• Our Collections: Collating and sharing our unique body of architectural knowledge and history more widely than ever before
• Our Digital Technology: Creating a vastly improved online experience - widening reach and expanding audiences across the UK and globally
• Our Headquarters: Making sensitive, essential refurbishment and restoration to our London Headquarters to make it more accessible, sustainable and welcoming.

Read more about our plans for House of Architecture in our news feature.

After public consultation in 2024, we have now submitted planning permission proposals to refurbish our London headquarters at 66 Portland Place.

Changes to make the building more accessible, sustainable, and welcoming will mean it will temporarily close to the public from 1 June 2025 onwards until work is complete. This phase - enabling works, construction, and fit out - is anticipated to take two and a half years. 

An exciting new partnership will ensure our collections remain accessible while 66 Portland Place is closed. Beginning Summer 2025, The London Archives in Clerkenwell will host key items from our collections alongside their own extensive holdings. Additional resources, such as books and the Robert Elwall Photographs Collection, will be housed at a temporary site in Stockwell, accessible by appointment. Read more on interim arrangements for our library and collections.

In January 2025 we released news that Bloomberg Philanthropies is supporting us to preserve and share our architectural collections. Their support will see us develop and implement a state-of-the-art Digital Archive Management System, allowing us to significantly advance our capacity to securely store, manage and protect our growing collection of born-digital items, in particular computer-aided design (CAD) drawings and digital photographs.

Read more about our support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

RIBA USA met with Oliver Urquhart-Irvine, Executive Director of Architectural Programmes and Collections, to explore RIBA's rich collections.