List, demolish & retrofit… the RIBA Presidential campaign
Austin Williams, candidate for RIBA President 2026 answers questions about his top priorities to the RIBA Journal, how he would address them, and which buildings he would list, demolish and retrofit
Q: What are your top three priorities?
1) If we want a truly creative industry, then we need to develop a generation with open-minded agency; one that goes beyond groupthink. The RIBA needs to encourage universities to return to the educational mission of critically engaging with ideas, and to stop nudging students to simply tick boxes … and then feigning delight when everyone passes. At the moment, many students are being ill-served – at huge expense – by higher education providers.
2) To move away from Westminster bubble policy-wonkery, backroom deals, need-to-know lobbying and imposed agendas. To engage upfront with ordinary practitioners. We should be open and above board. “Keep the client informed” is what I tell my students. In this case, our members are our “clients”. We work for them.
3) To end the fetishisation of climate, carbon and net zero as if they were incontestable moral imperatives. If these things are something you are keen on proselytising about, that’s fine, but they are not ethical absolutes, nor are they a core concern for everyone. I’m sure that a lot of architects want the freedom to decide for themselves what is important to them.
Q: What do you think is the most important issue for practising architects now?
Reducing over-regulation: paperwork, spreadsheets, uncertainty, mandated certification … basically, getting rid of costly inefficiencies.
Q: What would be your first act as president to address this?
Form alliances with other bodies (eg CIAT, RICS, HBF, small business groups, clients/developers etc) for joint lobbying. Consult practitioners and find out what regulations are truly necessary. Advise how, for starters, to avoid the superfluous.
Q: How would you advocate for architecture, beyond the profession?
1) Media. We should be getting our voices heard on the mainstream media. We should be asked to commentate on all manner of issues, from housing to heritage, from cities to cybernetics.
2) Building the team. There’s a clear need to advocate as part of the construction industry, as well as as a creative profession. We need to build a sense of solidarity with other sectors and to truly engage architects in finding a voice.
Q: List, demolish, retrofit – what one building would you choose for each?
List There are already 350,000 listed buildings, and as many as 1,500 are at risk of serious deterioration for want of funding. Listing a building does not mean that it is “saved”, and, ironically, listing often prevents necessary improvements through time-consuming, precautionary bureaucracy.
Demolish Too many to mention … but first up, ArcelorMittal Orbit.
Retrofit Jackdaw and Rosebank … and a number of viable fracking sites.
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