The RIBA has throughout its history honoured men and women who have made a major contribution to the world of design and in particular architecture.
Any architect outside the United Kingdom who is not a UK citizen, and who has a demonstrable interest in the objectives of the Royal Institute and exhibits distinction and breadth of contribution to architecture, may be elected an International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
The lifetime honour, conferred annually, allows recipients to use the suffix Int FRIBA.
Prior to 2006, these were Elected Honorary Fellows. In 2006, with the creation of the new honour, all architect Honorary Fellows, including non-UK surviving Royal Gold Medallists, were made RIBA International Fellows.
The 2017 International Fellows (four in partnerships) come from eleven different countries. Their work represents not only the spirit of their homelands but also transcends it to become truly international in its reference and influence. They are:
- Johan Celsing – Johan Celsing Arkitektkontor, Sweden
- Izaskun Chinchilla – Izaskun Chinchilla Architects, Spain
- Frederick Cooper – COOPER GRAÑA NICOLlNI ARCHITECTS (now CGGMS architects), Peru
- Philip Cox – COX Architecture, Australia
- Tom de Paor – dePaor, Ireland
- Francisco Vieira de Campos and Cristina Guedes – Menos é Mais, Portugal
- Bijoy Jain – Studio Mumbai, India
- Siv Helene Stangeland and Reinhard Kropf – Helen & Hard, Norway and Austria
- Vo Trong Nghia – Vo Trong Nghia Architects, Vietnam
- Marie Jose Van Hee – MJose Van Hee Architecten, Belgium