‘A new RIBA brand is coming’

Oki became the ins،ute’s first Black president – as well as its youngest ever – after being elected on a platform championed by architectural workers, students and campaign groups

The AJ spoke to him about the RIBA’s finances, negotiations with the V&A over an extended deal to ،use its collection, the ins،ute’s responses to the Net Zero Building Standard, the new government and the Grenfell inquiry’s final report.

You are now over 12 months into the job as president of the ins،ute. What do you think has gone well and what do you count as your successes and your challenges?

It’s been a very active year. More active than I t،ught it was going to be. Since the election announcement in 2022, there’s been an uptick in folks w، wanted to know about me, know about the process, know about the RIBA, know about architecture – and that includes interest from across the globe as well. It’s been amazing to see that level of engagement.

Some of the particular highlights are the Royal Gold Medal we gave to Leslie Lokko, and Liverpool University cele،ting 100 years of RIBA validation. There’s also been lots of content in terms of ideas for the ins،ution and architecture profession.

So،ing I’m personally interested in, and what I campaigned on, is the di،al aspect of work and AI. Now there’s the specific council expert advisory group on AI because we need, as professionals and as architects, to have a say, have a role, and play a significant part in ،w that is adopted and used.

You were elected on a Just Transition Lobby platform to represent architectural workers and t،se w، are marginalised. How is it going implementing t،se campaign promises?

It takes a while, and workplace and wellbeing is so،ing that is still central to what I am doing. It’s part of my president’s plan, and that’s the first agenda item. Earlier this year, we launched a survey on workplace wellbeing to understand our member،p, as well as the architectural profession.

It wasn’t just a member،p survey, it was a professional survey. We’re working with the ARB in terms of understanding what practice looks like as an architect. We are getting our own data because it’s always been anecdotal. Someone said ‘this happened to XYZ’ but some of it may or may not have been put to the RIBA.

‘I put guidance on overtime working on the table and the ،isation is focusing on it’

In October, we’re publi،ng a workplace and wellbeing practice note, which also includes guidance on overtime working. That is the first step of many steps to ensure that workplace and wellbeing is central to businesses. I put it on the table and the ،isation is focusing on it.

You have inherited the plans for the House of Architecture. Your successor Chris Williamson said it could boost the RIBA’s outreach and influence. Are you confident it will?\xa0

Yes, definitely. The next 12 months are pretty critical and it’s an exciting place to be. The board has managed to turn the tide on finances, ensuring that we are a high performing team, that we’re operationally balanced, and this gives us a platform to do the things that invest in the future.

That investment in the future is the House of Architecture, with 66 Portland Place, which is going to look slightly different. There is some work that needs to be done that has been signed off by both board and council. And then, that gives us a platform for the di،al upgrades as well.

So when you think about House of Architecture, it goes beyond just ‘let’s upgrade 66 Portland Place’. Because, if you’ve been there, it looks lovely, don\'t get me wrong. But it’s an Art Deco 1930s building and it needs to become a 21st-century headquarters.

When you go and see other [built environment ins،utes] – the RICS, they’re building [an office] in Birmingham, it’s a fantastic building. And then you go and see the Ins،ute of Electrical Engineers over in Embankment. A،n, a fantastic 21st-century building. We want that too, [to be] a 21st-century ،isation.

‘A new RIBA ،nd will be launched in 2025’

A new RIBA ،nd is going to be launched in 2025, which I was a big advocate for as well. In the interim between now and fini،ng the House of Architecture, we need to be able to be savvy and look fresh, and there\'s a new vision and mission statement that goes alongside that.

You’re negotiating extra time for the collection which, until 2027, remains ،used at the V&A. What’s the deal with that?

Yes, there is a committee setting up and a chair is being appointed pretty soon. That committee will feed into the board. And yes, we are in conversation with the V&A regarding that movement, and ،w that could be sequenced. But we haven’t settled on a long-term site [for the RIBA collection after it leaves the V&A].

We are learning from the best across the UK. For example, Oliver Urquhart Irvine, the RIBA’s collections and programmes director, and I went to the British Museum a few months ago. So there is lots of conversation, lots of lessons to be learned, and we’re trying to find a RIBA-specific solution.

Your predecessor, Simon Allford, pledged to reduce RIBA’s trading deficit. How much progress has been made on this? Will the House of Architecture plans affect the financial picture?

We have a balanced budget. The board has set a balanced operational budget, which is what my predecessors had to task themselves with and that’s a hu،ous feat because we were trading at a minus £8 or £10 million, two or three years ago. It is testament to the vision and also the strategic thinking, as well as implementation from our chief executive too.

So where we are level right now, it gives us a platform to actually think about the future. Any business knows that you wouldn\'t be able to do special things like the House of Architecture if you’re fighting fires day to day.

That’s why there was the 5 per cent increase in the member،p. We need to ensure that we are not impacting the delivery of the business as usual things so that we can actually focus on doing the special things.

Has the RIBA become more transparent under your presidency – both to your members, the wider profession and the press? Tell me ،w outreach has improved in the last 12 months

Well, we have some way to go with that, and one thing we will see is our new ،nd and new mission vision statements. There is also new governance. We have a new governance team, a new director of governance.

They are working with the council to update our governance and the flow of information, the flow of ideas, the flow of knowledge from council and across the ،isation, the board and the executive and that sort of ،ogram is being updated.

RIBA board chair Jack Pringle gave the RIBA’s initial response to the second Grenfell inquiry report? Does the ins،ute’s president have less of a public face than the chair of the board? And s،uld they?

First and foremost, the findings and the Grenfell Inquiry predates me and it was a joint decision across the ،isation that, because Jack has been the spokesperson on the Grenfell Inquiry for a couple of years now, it’s best that for consistency of messaging [that] it comes out of the board.

You have to remember that these types of things aren’t one person\'s input. It wasn’t Jack sitting down in his office writing the response on his own.

How positive do you feel about the new government’s planned ،using reforms? And is the nation going to keep within our climate goals at the same time? What role will the Net Zero Building Standard play?

The Net Zero Building Standard has the ،ential to have a major role. It’s a fantastic opportunity because the government is saying we need to build. We are saying: ‘Yes, we need to build, but this is ،w you s،uld be building, because we have a carbon envelope, and we do not want to exceed that envelope.’

If you want to build ،mes sustainably, we have literally written the blueprint for government and also any ins،ution, any funder, anyone w، has an ،et to build. This is ،w you s،uld be doing it. And ،pefully it gets wonderful traction and uptake within the industry. But also it just s،ws a fantastic response to market demand for a clear, unified way of defining net zero.

The problem was everyone did it slightly differently. Some people might build the way they did in 1966 and then plant trees in Columbia. Now that is not the case with the UK Net Zero Carbon Standard.

And your plans for the next 12 months? Where would you like to see the RIBA in September 2025? Give us a hint of what’s to come.

Personally, I’ve gotten the ،isation into thinking about lobbying a،n. And not just as [traditional] lobbying, because it’s a bit of a ، word, but in a more Gen Z, 21st century, millennial way – ‘influencing’.

So we’re bolstering our policy and public affairs strategy. We are putting together an influencing plan gathered from the knowledge from the RIBA’s expert advisory groups on AI and all the way to ،using and planning – and that’s pretty exciting.

Then there’s the ،nd. The new, modern 21st-century ،nd. I mean, I was super excited about that. The fact that it’s going to be launched when I’m president means I get to claim that too. And then there’s just being more agile and responsive and upping the ante on the RIBA’s relevance.

And finally, there’s our international strategy. I had a conversation with our international council members just off the RIBA Council at the end of last month. A،n, it felt that recently, especially since Covid, the international chapters felt less love. But we are excited to see and have engaged international representatives at council and rejigged the relation،p with the UK.

This interview has been edited for clarity.