The 2022 RIBA presidential candidates set out their stalls

To be officially accepted as a RIBA presidential candidate you need the support of 60 members. This year three candidates have reached that level and are in the running: Jo Bacon of Allies and Morrison, Muyiwa Oki of Mace and Sumita Singha of Ecologic Architects. The winning contender will begin their term in September 2023 and serve for two years. But what are their priorities and what could we expect from them if elected? How will they tackle the issues you care about?

 

Jo Bacon

If you are elected president, what would be your top three priorities? 

Carbon, competence, diversity. By 2025, at the end of the next presidential term, we must have demonstrated to the public and our talent pipeline the value of being an RIBA architect as the most competent professional with the best skills to address the climate crisis, safety and quality.

The profession is underpaid. I will use the RIBA presidency to promote the value architects bring so that our services are more respected and paid for accordingly. We must also all do our part by not being in a drive to the bottom on fees. The RIBA must be a champion here. This has reduced our members’ ability to reward staff at all levels.

At board, with the RIBA team, we are pulling together and updating a suite of best-practice policies – Practice in a Box – with a model employment contract helping practices recruit, retain and promote the best people. This effort combined with the RIBA fee calculator should support all practices avoiding the race to the bottom.

Then there is professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover, the costs of which, we all know, have risen precipitously. On RIBA Council, I have been active on the Expert Advisory Group (EAG) addressing this difficult issue. We intend to survey all members to align with our sister institutes, and to commission a study unifying PII documentation and procedures to reflect more accurately the risks and technical issues shared by practices of all sizes.

A diverse profession creates better architecture. I joined when only 12 per cent of architecture students were women. Now this is closer to 50 per cent but still too many of my fellow women drop from the profession. Today’s more flexible working patterns, which RIBA members should encourage, will hopefully bring more women back to work and allow all architects to better accommodate the range of life challenges they inevitably face over the course of their careers.

University data on BAME and LGBTQ student numbers need to be monitored but is probably at woeful levels and it would be a shame if it took 40 years to reflect the make-up of our society as it did for women in my time.

The RIBA Inclusion Charter is a good initiative to promote real action. Under my leadership as managing partner at Allies and Morrison, we took it to heart adopting a diversity and inclusion statement. It includes a commitment to recruit not less than 50 per cent of our new graduates from underrepresented backgrounds. How did we arrive at this number? As a practice based in Southwark, we just looked around at the incredibly diverse community around us and felt it was the right thing to do. I will encourage these ambitious commitments across the profession.

We need more knowledge sharing and data. The RIBA Climate Challenge 2030 is a good start. But we will need more events, debates and peer-to-peer learning for all to upskill. We need the new Part Z initiative on embodied carbon.  We must lobby government on this.

 

Muyiwa Oki

If you are elected president, what would be your top three priorities? 

1. Focus on the future architect: be the accessible leader for members, collaborating with unions that offer expansive solutions to avoid overwork and underpay.
2. Promote transparency and inclusion through quarterly town halls for UK regions and international charters, and reinforce adherence to the RIBA professional standards.
3. Embrace the skills for a digital future, championing all legitimate avenues of practising architecture. 

What would your first action be as president to support practices and working architects through the current cost of living crisis? 

For architectural workers: 
Start by listening to the issues and experiences of the architecture workers – to begin addressing the toxic working culture that is prevalent. Improve relationships between employer and employee. 
Create a career development coaching service – ‘Dream Directors’ to help individual members think big, create their dream architectural career path and a step-by-step plan to achieve it. No dream is too big; no idea is off-limits. 

For practices: 
Champion a start-up culture to drive innovation, helping practices take smarter risks and get noticed. 
Promote the benefits of employing those with architecture skills in the wider economy such as automation, and machine learning in practice. 

How would you reach out to underrepresented and under-served parts of the profession? 

I want more spotlighting of a spectrum of talent within the membership, through the StoryBooth initiative. I am running to usher in a mind shift, fire up the architecture profession, to speak up for the future. 

The StoryBooth initiative will give ordinary members the opportunity to tell their stories to a wider audience, for a transparent RIBA community. One that listens, honours, and shares. 

How would you tackle the climate emergency as RIBA president? 

Encourage the RIBA to steal good ideas with pride! I will move to get members into an ‘execute phase’, regarding targets in the RIBA 2030 climate challenge instead of the current ‘commit to attempt’. 

 

Sumita Singha

If you are elected president, what would be your top three priorities? 

1. An enabling RIBA
RIBA-backed PI insurance with premiums based on size of practice, projects, and government-backed insurance for risky work. 

2. An inclusive RIBA
‘RIBA presence’ in the UK and abroad for members to network, learn and share. 
Reduced rates room-hire for regional and international members at 66 Portland Place.  

3. An ethical RIBA 
Extend the ‘RIBA Compact’ to include an ethical charter for students and employees, with an annual award for best practice. 
 
What would your first action be as president to support practices and working architects through the current cost of living crisis?

I would try to reduce the operating costs for practices, especially small practices that are suffering from the knock-on effects of Brexit, Covid and the economic crisis. Apart from reducing insurance premiums, I would include free CPD for core competencies as part of membership benefits. I would enable a physical resource sharing platform, eg printers, equipment, even staff secondment – an RIBA-supported library of resources for those in need for every region. This would also be a climate-friendly initiative.
 
How would you reach out to underrepresented and under-served parts of the profession?
As the founder of RIBA's equality forum, Architects For Change, I have continued to campaign for equality in the profession for the last 22 years. I recognise  those under-represented and under-served through three lenses - people, projects and places. Within the people aspect, I would like to see people of diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds given visibility, voice and being valued. I will advocate for a curriculum that recognises and redresses predominant colonialist social narratives, and emphasise the critical role that diversity and inclusion play in fostering creativity, equity and respect. Within the projects aspect, I would like to see diversity of projects from big to small, community benefit and retrofit projects being recognised through awards and support. Within the place aspect, I would like to see members from London, regions and the 115 countries that RIBA operates in being listened to, supported and recognised equally. 

How would you tackle the climate emergency as RIBA president?

My work in the last 30 years has been with sustainable and retrofit projects, participatory design, and community engagement. I will lobby for chartered practice status to include mandatory environmental and carbon targets and encourage them to work in net-zero, retrofit and community benefit projects. Eighty per cent of western Europe's buildings have already been built. So instead, we can be designing 'ordinary good', retrofitting and bring into use many existing buildings. I will also lobby for abolishing VAT on refurbishment and simplifying the processes to undertake retrofit projects. Such work will be recognised by a special award each year.

Listen to the candidates at online hustings on 21 and 23 June and see them live at 66 Portland Place on 27 June – register here.

Voting is open for eligible RIBA members from 28 June to 26 July 2022, with results being announced on 2 August.