RIBA International and Honorary Fellows 2017

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

RIBA Honorary Fellowships reward the contributions people have made to architecture in its broadest sense: its promotion, administration and outreach; its role in building more sustainable communities, and its role in the education of future generations.

The lifetime honour, conferred annually, allows recipients to use the suffix Hon FRIBA.

The 2017 Honorary Fellowships were awarded to men and women from a wide range of backgrounds including academics, architectural consultants, clients, curators, writers, philanthropists, journalists, publishers and photographers.

Those honoured have contributed greatly towards architecture, be they practitioners, commentators or teachers. In their different ways, they have helped to improve the quality of design and influence the delivery of the built environment in a sustainable and creative way. They are:

• Iwan Baan – Photographer
• Neil Baxter – Secretary and Treasurer, Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS)
• Patricia Brown – Director of Central and outgoing Chair of LFA
• Martyn Evans – Deputy Chair, London Festival of Architecture
• Marcus Fairs – Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Dezeen
• Stephen Howlett – Chief Executive, Peabody
• Razia Iqbal – Journalist, BBC News
• Jeremy Paul Melvin – Architectural historian and curator
• Frédéric Migayrou – Chair, Bartlett Professor of Architecture, The Bartlett School of Architecture
• Lars Müller – Publisher
• Christine Murray – Editor-in-Chief, The Architects’ Journal and The Architectural Review
• Jo Negrini – Chief Executive, London Borough of Croydon
• Ian Pritchard – Secretary General, Architects’ Council of Europe
• Julian S. Robinson – Director of Estates, London School of Economics
• Dame Theresa Sackler – Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation
• Sonia Watson – CEO, Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust
• Nathalie Weadick – Director, Irish Architecture Foundation