RIBA must abandon tribe mentality says Prasad

Incoming RIBA president Sunand Prasad has pledged to transform the RIBA into a “knowledge community” that will reach out to other professions such as town planning and engineering.

In his president’s inaugural lecture this week, Prasad argued that the traditional model of a profession as a tribe was “no longer adequate, no longer fit for purpose.”

He said architects’ skills now ranged from the minute scale of sole rural practitioners and conservation specialists to large commercial firms. He “fully expected” his new knowledge community model to adopted by RIBA council next month.

Prasad also made three more commitments as RIBA president. He said that he would work with other professions across the world “to press for a global solution” to climate change.

He said that he wanted schools of architecture to harness their design skills “to contribute directly to their localities and beyond”.

Finally, he said that the RIBA should press the government “to champion patronage of good architecture that matches any from previous historical periods.”