ACTIVATING THE FACE OF 66 PORTLAND PLACE : TRANSFORMING RIBA INTO THE NEW ‘HOUSE OF ARCHITECTURE ’
MRINALINI GHADIOK
AA Membership Number: 80139
C7HCT000 Writing Architecture: Spaces, Politics, Aesthetics (T2-22/23) | Marina Lathouri
MA History and Critical Thinking | Architectural Association School of Architecture
It takes seconds to form an impression of something that we see, and moments to label it ‘likeable’ or not. Objects that fail to grab our attention, fall into a different category altogether ‘oblivion’ from where recovery is arduous. This is true for everything, even buildings. The building’s façade is its face and its introduction and the opportunity to form that first impression. Drawing on Louis Kahn’s assertion in ‘Form and Design’ (1934) "[the façade] shows its nature. It shows its texture. It shows its form. It shows its function,"1 the façade emulates the character of the building, as well as its purpose, and therefore, becomes the primary interface between the building and its viewer, the public.
1 Kahn, Louis I. "Form and Design." In Louis I. Kahn: Writings, Lectures, Interviews, edited by Alessandra Latour, 193-196. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1991.
I walked through Portland Place several times, admiring the wide avenue flanked by imposing monotoned buildings. A black fence protruding onto the sidewalk piqued my interest it was the entrance to the Embassy of China. The rest was a coherently organised streetscape of the same stone dressed in myriad ways.
A walk through Portland Place – myriad use of the Portland stone across the facades of different buildings. Entrance to the Embassy of China
The headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is located on Portland Place. As the national institution that represents Architecture in the UK, its own architecture becomes an emblematic portrayal of the profession. However, while RIBA, the institution, impresses greatly upon the profession of architecture, RIBA, the building, fails to impress its viewer with its architecture. Fading into its surrounding tapestry, the building misses the determinate categories of likeability and falls into ‘oblivion’. This raises concerns about its architectural characteristics and their impact (or lack of) on the public, as well as the public character of the building and its contextual positioning. One wonders if RIBA is unable to make a mark through architecture, how would RIBA make a mark on Architecture?
Claiming the coveted corner address, 66 Portland Place (66PP), and the enviable domain, architecture.com RIBA is the site (digital and terra) from where architects in the UK are formed and informed students are certified as professionals and professionals return as members. It is no surprise then, to hear it being referred to in reverential terms a ‘temple’, ‘monument’ and even ‘celebration’.2
RIBA’s status-quo has been quite the focus lately. In 2021, Simon Allford won the RIBA Presidential election on the ticket of transforming the institution from a long-standing club-culture to a more outward-facing ‘House of Architecture’3 (HOA). He introduced it as a programme that would “inspire members, professionals, students and the public,” and also, refurbish the headquarters to shake off its tiredness and transform it from a “venue” to an “intellectual powerhouse.”4 Throughout this narrative, the term ‘house’ is recurring the familiar understanding of which implies a private dwelling that shelters its members and their interests. Its interiority establishes a distance between the object and the subject, requiring of the latter a membership or invitation to engage with the former. On the contrary, the HOA is conceived as a hub of activity and nervecentre interpreted as Jürgen Habermas’ (1991) public house, one that is open to all. In this light, 66PP becomes a public building, for it contains a state institution that promotes “the common welfare of its rightful members”5 here, a professional
2 Shasore, Neal. “The Design and Influences of 66 Portland Place.” www.youtube.com. RIBA Architecture, February 9, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWwLqdGiqVM&list=PLQIkSVdn4-CxBVydA05fjcjL5VUZDb0ht&t=4s.
3 Architecture.com. “House of Architecture.” RIBA, 2023. https://www.architecture.com/about/House-of-Architecture.
4 Young, Eleanor. “Simon Allford Wants to Disrupt, Lead, Collaborate and Keep People Well.” www.ribaj.com. The RIBA Journal, September 1, 2021. https://www.ribaj.com/culture/simon-allford-riba-president-interview-disruptive-influence-ahmm.
5 Habermas, Jürgen. The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society. Translated by Thomas Burger and Frederick Lawrence. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1991.
body that facilitates ‘the general advancement of Architecture’.6 Thus, Allford’s vision to “reach, engage, and inspire people of all ages across the globe,” characterised by, “openness, generosity, and diversity,”7 in fact, becomes a bridge between the object and subject. To translate the public-ness of HOA to its architecture of 66PP, the questions of relevance and potential get underscored is the architecture, which was conceived in 1934, still relevant? Is there potential in rearticulating it?8
6 ‘The RIBA was founded in 1834 for “the general advancement of Architecture, and for promoting and facilitating the acquirement of the knowledge of the various arts and sciences connected therewith.”’ www.architecture.com. “RIBA History, Charter and Bylaws.” RIBA, n.d. https://www.architecture.com/about/historycharter-and-byelaws.
7 Allford, Simon. Architecture.com. “House of Architecture.” RIBA, 2023. https://www.architecture.com/about/House-of-Architecture.
8 Allford also questions relevance in defining the potential of RIBA as ‘The House of Architecture’, and calls for entries that can identify and act upon potential. “There is now a real opportunity to develop 66PP and ensure its continuation, relevance, and legacy for future generations by creating The House of Architecture @ RIBA. Our vision is to communicate the significance of architecture in its widest definition…” Allford, Simon (RIBA President), “Introduction,” Competition Interview Process, House of Architecture @ RIBA Project. 4. Architecture.com. “The House of Architecture at RIBA.” RIBA, 2022. https://www.architecture.com/awards-andcompetitions-landing-page/competitions-landing-page/the-house-of-architecture-at-riba.
Centred on this premise, RIBA framed a competition in 2021 to build the HOA. Highlighting diversity and inclusion at its heart, the brief called to “restore member value in 66PP and in doing so, become welcoming to the public.” Awarded to Benedetti Architects, the ongoing project not only aims to upgrade building facilities but also emphasises the social infrastructure to be offered to members and the public alike.9 There is a clear intent to expand the purview of the institution, but the scope to achieve it is restricted predominantly to interior interventions. The external building shell is conspicuous in its absence from the brief, but the exteriority of the building cannot be dismissed for in creating a public building, its public interface must be reinforced, which begins at its façade.
RIBA headquarters, Portland Place Elevation : This photograph has been composed to show the elevation without any obstructions, and is used widely by RIBA for publications.
https://www.architecture.com/contact-and-visit/visit-66-portland-place
It was a while before I realised that the building at the corner of Portland Place and Weymouth Street the one I had crossed on numerous occasions was the RIBA headquarters. I had noticed the tall window from across the street, the slender columns as I walked by, and the embossed metal doors illuminated in a pink hue at night. But I never had the chance to put all the pieces together or maybe I never had the vantage.
9 Allford, Simon (RIBA President), Competition Interview Process, House of Architecture @ RIBA Project. 6-8. Architecture.com. “The House of Architecture at RIBA.” RIBA, 2022. https://www.architecture.com/awards-and-competitions-landing-page/competitions-landing-page/the-house-of-architecture-at-riba.
66PP was built to the designs of G.G. Wornum’s competition entry for the new RIBA headquarters in 1934. Anticipating a ‘big idea’, journals speculated if the building would be unique and offer to the “thousands of laymen who would never enter the premises” a view to remember.10 Wornum’s experiment with Scandinavian New-Classicism played the part deemed “out of character with Portland Place,” his façade was declared “unconvincing in its fenestration.” 11 Almost a century later, the blatant unsuitability of the building has now melded within its context. Portland Place, today, is dotted with buildings designed in various interpretations of the modern-classic, making it a smorgasbord of quaint facades. Dressed in the same Portland stone, numerous embassies, offices, and even a school, fade into a familiar similarity. The contextual relevance of 66PP, if assessed as an exemplary representation of RIBA’s original institutional values of dignity12 continues to fare well.
10 Richardson, Margaret. “Historical Background,” 66 Portland Place: The London Headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects. 7.
11 “In general, although many felt that Grey Wornum's competition elevation was unconvincing in its fenestration or too blatant and out of character with Portland Place, most were agreed that his design deserved to win for its plan and, above all, for its section.” Ibid., 12.
12 ‘It should be borne in mind that the new RIBA building, by reason of its representative character, is likely to be held by the present and by future generations of architects and the general public to be an example of the best work of our time… the assessors will seek primarily for evidence of imaginative handling of plan, structure and material, and for a due sense, in the external and internal aspects of the building, of the dignity and significance for the national life of the
66 Portland Place by Grey Wornum in 1934 – before later expansions. Architectural Press Archive. RIBA Collection 66 Portland Place in 2023.Conversely, as a representative of a building of national architectural significance that showcases itself as a performance of architectural prowess 66PP falls short it is no longer a spectacle. The spectacle, here, must not be misunderstood as Guy Debord’s (1967) notion of the image as an extravagant commodification of social life and relationships.13 Instead, it is prudent to draw a parallel to Bernard Tschumi’s (1996) use of the spectacle in architecture that engages with the public by creating a sense of excitement and energy.14 66PP stands proud for its symbolic image, but today, its contextual presence lacks intrigue.
The most distinguishing feature of the building is its large window on the main elevation. When constructed, critics such as A. Trystan Edwards and C.H. Reilly appreciated the “honesty” of the form for it connoted the expansive window of Florence Hall inside the building. On the other hand, William Crabtree termed it “dishonest” for the way the second-floor girder broke across the front façade.15 But this was criticism on paper. In reality, for a spectator on the street, while big and bold, the window translates very little of what lies behind the walls. The metal-framed glass aperture offers an obstructed glimpse into the Reception Hall on the first floor, but one cannot decipher more than the idea of a tall space. And while the window extends further up, as shown in Wornum’s drawings, the cross-girder significantly stunts the perception of height a feature not evident in his proposal at all. Though restrictions in the 1930s adjusted the originally proposed design, it is a wonder why modifications were never made later even until 1970, when 66PP was granted Grade II listing.
Wornum’s drawings are from a different era with bare streets and wide vistas, the elevation would have been perceived as originally intended, unhindered. But almost 90 years later, the avenue is bifurcated with a median and punctuated with tall trees, fragmenting distant gazes and pixelating images. A carefree stroll is now replaced by measured navigation around lights, traffic, level-changes and even the odd sculpture.
profession of architecture.' (Conditions for Competition for new premises for the Royal Institute of British Architects 1931). Richardson, Margaret. “Historical Background,” 66 Portland Place: The London Headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects .6.
13 In his book, "The Society of the Spectacle" (1967), Debord argues that in modern society, everything has become commodified and reduced to a spectacle, which is not only limited to the production and distribution of images and media, but also extends to the way people live their lives wherein social relations, identities, and even emotions are being transformed into marketable goods. Debord, Guy. Society of the Spectacle. Translated by Donald Nicholson-Smith. (Brooklyn, New York, USA: Zone Books, 1995). 13.
14 Bernard Tschumi discusses the idea of the architectural spectacle through the relationship between architecture and contemporary culture. He argues that while architecture is becoming increasingly focused on creating experiences and events that challenge traditional notions of space and time, there is still value in the use of the spectacle as a way for architects to engage with the public and create a sense of excitement and energy around their work. Instead of focusing on the image, it could centre around creating intrigue. Tschumi, Bernard. Architecture and Disjunction. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1996).
15 Richardson, Margaret. “Historical Background,” 66 Portland Place: The London Headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects.18.
Newbury, Sydney W. Photographs of the original competition entry designs by Grey Wornum. 1934 Royal Institute of British Architects, 66 Portland Place, London: competition entries showing the basement and ground floor plans, and front elevation and section Architectural Press Archive / RIBA Collections
On the ground, twin columns find prominence in their peculiarity no other building on the street requires tall sentinels to guard its entrance. But then again, no other building has ornate bronze doors that are 12 feet high, 6 feet wide and weigh 1.5 tons. Rendered in deep reliefs of ‘London’s rivers and its buildings’,16 the imposing panels in themselves are markers for the address. However, when set ajar in the day, the crafted shutters fold into the entrance niche and often get missed by passersby when shut, their dramatic presence is construed as an artistic but impenetrable armour. The entrance, ironically, is most impressive when closed to the public and loses steam the moment its doors are opened. But as the most critical interface between the outside and inside, and the building with its visitors, the entrance to 66PP has not only been discussed but also modified over the years. Malcolm McEwan (1974), in his book Crisis in Architecture, criticised it for having an “atmosphere of contained emptiness as the Taj Mahal,” and simultaneously, making one feel like they were “trespassing on enemy territory.”17 In the same year, as part of a refurbishment, a revolving door was inserted in the Entrance Hall.18 A 2016 study identified the space as “not sufficiently welcoming,” and the current HOA project highlights it as a key area for intervention to create a “welcoming, open and dynamic face for the institution.”19
Left. Dell & Wainwright, 1934 Royal Institute of British Architects, 66 Portland Place, London: the bronze entrance doors by James Woodford Architectural Press Archive / RIBA Collections
Right. Entrance door to 66 Portland Place –when the doors are open, the engraved panels are folded into the entrance niche and cannot be seen clearly from the street front. Image courtesy Shutterstock
16 Richardson, Margaret. “Entrance Door,” 66 Portland Place: The London Headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects. 21.
17 MacEwan, Malcolm. “Interface.” Crisis in Architecture. (London, UK: RIBA Publications Ltd., 1974). 91
18 Richardson, Margaret. “Alterations and additions since 1956.” Background’, 66 Portland Place: The London Headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects. 43.
19 “Project Description,” Competition Interview Process, House of Architecture @ RIBA Project 9. https://www.architecture.com/awards-and-competitionslanding-page/competitions-landing-page/the-house-of-architecture-at-riba.
Portland Place in 1814 Ackermann, Rudolph. Library Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures, Fashions and Politics. Internet Archive.
Harvey, J.D.M. Perspective of the competition design by G.G. Wornum, 1934
66 Portland Place: The London Headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects. (London, UK: RIBA Publications Limited, 1984). 8.
As the first point of contact, the entrance holds the maximum potential to determine a dialogue with a visitor. However, a building does not stipulate only a single point of contact. In 2019, the inaugural event of Architects Underground,20 used the side door to 68PP that led straight to the bar and further into the event venue. Calling it a “masterstroke”, Hugh Pearman (2019) applauded the shifted axis and placemaking exercise to declare, “Since their whole schtick is non-institutional, entering from the main door would be all wrong…”21 Similar efforts to activate various touchpoints into the building, even if conceived temporarily for occasions, create novel experiences for visitors, replacing the formality of an institution with the spontaneity of a house.
20 Architects Underground is a weekly club night initiated in 2019, wherein a wide mix of creative arts come together ‘under the roof of architecture.’ Founder Rob Dickens describes his vision as “a communal space where like-minded people with a love for the arts can enjoy a great night out with entertaining and thoughtprovoking programming as well as a social meeting place. Architecture and especially the architect will be the common thread throughout.” Pearman, Hugh. “RIBA Goes Underground.” RIBA Journal, September 2019 (August 22, 2019): 80. https://www.ribaj.com/culture/the-architects-underground-riba-66-portland-place.
21 Pearman, Hugh. “Psst, over here….” RIBA Journal, no. October 2019 (September 26, 2019): 79. https://www.ribaj.com/culture/68-portland-place-architectsunderground-side-door-transgressive-spaces-hugh-pearman.
Entrance to 68 Portland Place used for the event Architects Underground The raised plinth along the Portland Place façade wrapping around the corner
The black fence in front of the Embassy imposes a distinguished periphery that must not be breached. At 66PP, the perimeter gets drawn by architectural devices. The stoic formalism of the building forbids any casual or instinctive encounters. Instead of a moment of repose, the raised plinth in front of the windows is a warning to keep at arms-length.
Instances like these transform the ‘house’ as a private dwelling into a public space by punctuating the impermeable building shell with moments of engagement. While the original scheme for 66PP may not have provided for such opportunities, they can be created by strategically placing public and semipublic functions behind window frontages similar to window displays on highstreets or along the building periphery such as al-fresco dining on sidewalks. Reorganising the ground level plan for RIBA to shift the bookstore that is tucked in a side, exhibition spaces that are pushed towards the back, and café that opens inwards could facilitate higher interactive exchanges with the public along its building face. It would be a shame to relocate the RIBA bookstore to an upper level to be closer to the library, as suggested by the brief for HOA. Instead, replacing the seldom-used meeting room on the ground-floor corner with the store would activate the elevation on both street fronts. Similar strategies are evident across successful institutions, where democratic public functions become keystones to connect with visitors of all demographics. The British Library is a prime example traffic on the lower floors is considerably higher than within reading rooms not because the book stacks are inadequate, but because the café, shops and exhibition spaces have easy access to a wide audience that extends beyond the library member or academic patron. This forges an empathetic relationship between the general public and the venue, transforming it from a mere address on a street to a discernible destination.
Windows along Weymouth Street. Left. Looking into the hallway but blocked with furniture. Right. Looking into the bookshop but blocked with furniture.
Is this the RIBA headquarters or is it 66 Portland Place?
An online search brings up fewer results for the former than the latter. Of the two books found to be dedicated to RIBA, one was 66 Portland Place an easy find given its title. The other, called Crisis in Architecture, was a chance encounter, which discusses precisely what the title implies, though focusing on 66PP.
Those who call it a ‘temple’, know that 66PP is the headquarters of RIBA. They are likely to be members who have had the opportunity to become familiar with the building. But for the uninitiated, 66PP is just another building one that does not overtly invite them or discreetly entice them for a visit. The elevation is another façade. It does not create a stir, but neither does it inspire intrigue. It is interesting to note that the exterior composition was never the strength of Wornum’s proposal. On the contrary, he was awarded the commission not because of the elevation, but despite it. The proposed design and the constructed building were subject to criticism from the onset. Margaret Richardson (1984), who writes the only book dedicated to 66PP, claims that throughout the mid-century, few scholars lauded the building, but many censured it. By the 1970s, the general feeling held by the profession was summed in a letter to the RIBA Journal “As long as the RIBA stays behind that façade in Portland Place it must inevitably be associated with the pretentiousness of archaic symbolism.”22 Writing herself in the 1980s, Richardson expressed sympathy and a greater understanding of the architecture’s “dual nature” the neo-classical exterior and modern interior. And four decades later, the debate continues. While iconic for its style, craftsmanship as well as symbolism, 66PP lingers in the wake of a building “commissioned by architects for architects”23 and to a brief that demanded dignity.24 As a result, the elevation remains a projection of its design composition (that very image of dignity), instead of a representation of the building’s purpose (a public artefact that engages with people).25 Has this condition, inadvertently made 66PP, a victim of its design?
22 Richardson, Margaret. “Historical Background,” 66 Portland Place: The London Headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects.16.
23 Ibid., 4.
24 Wornum’s design for 66 Portland Place was steeped in “dignity.” The assessors of the original competition in 1931, said that they ‘will seek…for a due sense, in the external and internal aspects of the building, of the dignity and significance for the national life of the profession of architecture.’ Ibid., 6.
25 'It should be borne in mind that the new RIBA building, by reason of its representative character, is likely to be held by the present and by future generations of architects and the general public to be an example of the best work of our time,’ As stated in the competition conditions for the design of the new RIBA headquarters building at 66 Portland Place. Ibid., 6.
Remember that person you met, and thought was a snob, but turns out after having gotten to know her that she genuinely means well? 66PP is that friend. You need to look past in this case, actually take notice of the façade venture in and get familiar with its interiority, to appreciate its values.
It is imperative to take into account that while the building’s purpose remains unchanged, RIBA’s vision is now governed by inclusion defined by Allford as being agnostic to profession, location, and age, but also rearticulated in the President-elect Muyiwa Oki’s statement as “…making it possible for people from all backgrounds to get into architecture.”26 This redefines the public artefact as a public institution, encompassing Habermas’ public house and public building. And in doing so, it presents the opportunity to question the relevance of the elevation as it stands today and explore the potential it holds. “All buildings carry this potential within them,”27 says Pearman, but as the institution that impresses on Architecture, RIBA needs to see the potential its architecture has to impress upon the public.
26 Wainwright, Oliver. “‘Our Time Has Come’ – Muyiwa Oki, First Black President of RIBA, Reveals His Shakeup Plans.” The Guardian, October 12, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/oct/12/muyiwa-oki-black-president-riba-.
27 Pearman, Hugh. “Psst, over here….” RIBA Journal, no. October 2019 (September 26, 2019): 79. https://www.ribaj.com/culture/68-portland-place-architectsunderground-side-door-transgressive-spaces-hugh-pearman.
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Pearman, Hugh. “Psst, over Here….” RIBA Journal, no. October 2019 (September 26, 2019): 79. https://www.ribaj.com/culture/68-portlandplace-architects-underground-side-door-transgressive-spaces-hugh-pearman.
Pearman, Hugh. “RIBA Goes Underground.” RIBA Journal, no. September 2019 (August 22, 2019): 80. https://www.ribaj.com/culture/thearchitects-underground-riba-66-portland-place.
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Tschumi, Bernard. Architecture and Disjunction. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1996.
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Wainwright, Oliver. “‘Our Time Has Come’ – Muyiwa Oki, First Black President of RIBA, Reveals His Shakeup Plans.” The Guardian, October 12, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/oct/12/muyiwa-oki-black-president-riba-.
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Young, Eleanor. “Simon Allford Wants to Disrupt, Lead, Collaborate and Keep People Well.” www.ribaj.com. The RIBA Journal, September 1, 2021. https://www.ribaj.com/culture/simon-allford-riba-president-interview-disruptive-influence-ahmm.
* All photographs courtesy of author, unless otherwise noted.
Newbury, Sydney, 1929
Proposed site for the Royal Institute of British Architects at 66 Portland Place, London.
Architectural Press Archive / RIBA Collections
66 Portland Place as the RIBA headquarters, 2023.