RIBA Collections from home

If you're wishing you could get out and about to explore the architecture of your region, we bring you a selection of the country's most iconic and intriguing buildings in drawings, photographs and archive material, to be enjoyed from the comfort of your living room.

Take some time out to dive into the world-class RIBA Collections. Our online image library brings you over 100,000 digitised highights from the collections.

University of East Anglia student residences, Norwich, by Denys Lasdun

Denys Lasdun was appointed consultant architect to the new University of East Anglia (UEA) in 1962. He set about building on Chamberlin, Powell and Bon's 'ten minute university' concept, developing it into the five minute equivalent: a compact campus, conceived as a small city, with everything in reach within a five minute walk. The stepped, terraced massing of the 'ziggurat' student residences was informed by his ambitions for social density, daylighting and views, with the roof of each unit providing a terrace for the one above.

Explore UEA buildings by Denys Lasdun

Wollaton Hall, Nottinghamshire, by Robert Smythson

Wollaton Hall was designed by Robert Smythson and built between 1580 and 1588 for the industrialist Sir Francis Willoughby. It's considered one of the most important Elizabethan halls in England. Its 'fantasy gothic' design combines elements of Italian, French and Dutch influence, as well as incoporating window tracery that recalls that of the Middle Ages.

Explore more images of Wollaton Hall

Coventry Cathedral by Sir Basil Spence

After the Cathedral of St Michael was devastated by bombing in 1940, a design competition was held for a new cathedral for Coventry. Sir Basil Spence's entry won the commission, resulting in the famous modernist, precast concrete building packed with artist commissions, such as the vast tapestry by Graham Sutherland and stained glass windows by Lawrence Lee. Spence was firm that the new cathedral should not replace the old one, but coexist side by side with its ruins. 

Discover more images of Coventry Cathedral

Aiton and Co. offices, Derby, by Aiton and Scott

The 1931 Aiton and Co office was among the first industrial buildings to be designed by a partnership of women architects. It's also an early example of modernist architecture in the UK, imported during the interwar period. This historic photograph captures the building as it looked shortly after completion. 

Explore more buildings by Aiton and Scott

Lloyd's Building, City of London, by Richard Rogers and Partners

The Lloyd's Building was unlike anything else in the City of London in the 1980s when it emerged into the skyline. Its 'inside out' design put building services on the outside of the building, creating a structural exoskeleton that left the interior clear for a vast atrium at the centre of the building's six towers. 

Explore more images of the Lloyd's Building