Autumn is a seasonal period of change, but this year our profession has what’s been coined as a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to change our built environment for the better, through the potential regulation of function for competent persons working on buildings.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have launched a 'call for evidence’ to shape the future of the profession' and are seeking responses from architects, architectural assistants and students. This is a pivotal moment for the profession following the conclusion to a number of public inquiries, and for architects to highlight our unique role as guardians for the built environment, champions for design excellence, ambassadors for climate solutions, and protective role for the public and building safety.
The call for evidence can be found here, with the call closing on 8 November.
On an RIBA Wessex regional level there are a number of changes, as Paul Stevens will be stepping down as RIBA Wiltshire Chair, a position he has held for over 9 years. Paul has been an exceptional champion for the RIBA across Wiltshire, a much-valued member of our Regional team, and we thank him for his leadership of the branch. If you are interested in being the RIBA Wiltshire Chair and continuing to champion architects and architecture across the county, find out more here.
Shivam Garg will be stepping down as RIBA Gloucestershire Chair, a position he has held for the past two years, and within his role has focused on championing innovation in architecture; from VR, dementia design to cradle-to-cradle. Shivam will be succeeded by Chris Ryder of GSS Architecture, who has been elected for a two-year term, and is keen to bring back the sense of community, collaboration and networking which the branch had prior to Covid-19.
RIBA Bristol & Bath and RIBA Dorset have already held in person events during the summer months, as although the virtual world has enabled us an unlimited amount of accessibility, especially for our more rural members, there is a social aspect that Teams and Zoom cannot offer – such as building sandcastles!
RIBA Somerset continue their work in supporting the establishment of the Taunton Design Circle, and The Vision for Taunton Garden Town. Phosphates continue to delay planning applications within Somerset, and RIBA have been engaging with Natural England to seek a pragmatic solution for members, sharing lessons learnt from other regions through adopting nutrient neutrality principles.
Behind the scenes at the RIBA there have been a number of changes, with the organisational, governance and committee structure reviews now coming to a conclusion. Tom Foggin is elected as the Vice-President for Membership, and he has been an unequivocal voice for members on Nations and Regions Committee (N&RC), as has Valeria Passetti who has been the VP for Membership for the past four years.
The meeting of the Regional Chairs, RSAW, RIAS and RIAI will continue virtually, once a month, as the frequency during the pandemic has enabled better intel, support and communication from members to the RIBA – from the early questions about furlough, raising the need for planning deadline extensions, to the more recent implications of the Building Safety Bill on 12 year contracts and run-off PII.
The RIBA have been reactive for members during the pandemic, with N&RC being instrumental to this, but now we are looking forward, with the ability to be proactive and support members concerns on planning policy, procurement, to upskilling climate literacy.
RIBA South West/Wessex Small and Emerging Practice Group was established during the pandemic, and following its success alongside other regions, will now see the inaugural Small and Emerging Practice Conference in December. The RIBA Future Architects programme continues to grow, the RIBA Climate Challenge 2030 through our Regional engagement is now being embedded within Local Plans, and there will be a launch of new digital tools for members – plus, we are tentatively meeting again, bringing together our networks of architects, architectural assistants, students and collaborators.
Change can be a challenge, but change is what keeps us relevant – we are fortunate to have the constant force of our local branches, regional representation, and the RIBA South West team to support members and Chartered Practices, engage with Local Authorities, collaborate with parallel professions, and ensure architects and architecture continue to adapt, evolve and thrive across the Region.
RIBA Wessex chair Tom Bell is an architect at Ridge & Partners LLP, Bristol
September 2021
