RIBA and Google Arts & Culture Launch New Partnership

Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome: precast concrete roof under construction 1952; Carlo Ponti, RIBA Collections

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced a new digital collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, the leading online platform that uses technology to share unique collections and cultural institutions with a global audience.

RIBA is a global professional membership body that serves its members and society to deliver better buildings and places, stronger communities, and a sustainable environment. As a registered charity, it relies on the generosity of individuals, companies, trusts and foundations to preserve its world-class collections, to maintain free public access to its exhibitions and to develop a diverse and exciting public events program. RIBA has one of the largest, oldest, and most significant architectural collections in the world and is the first UK organization dedicated to architecture to partner with Google Arts & Culture. It is home to one of the world’s leading architecture collections. The RIBA Collections feature over four million items spanning the history of architecture from the 15th century to the present day. Among them are rare, illustrated texts, original drawings, architecture models, archive material and photographs, rich in historical detail.

Google Arts & Culture puts the collections of more than 2,000 museums at your fingertips. It’s an immersive way to explore art, history and the wonders of the world, from the women’s rights movement the to Taj Mahal. The Google Arts & Culture app is free and available online for iOS and Android. The team has been an innovation partner for cultural institutions since 2011. Google Arts & Culture develops technologies that help preserve and share culture and allow curators to create engaging exhibitions online and offline.

The RIBA collections in London are free to visit and open to all. At two main locations in London, visitors can discover and explore some of the treasures of the collection. Online, people can explore the archive and purchase images from the collection. RIBA has a dynamic program of exhibitions and events that engage and bring the collection to life, inviting visitors to interact with architectural history within a contemporary framework. A specially curated selection of 15 online stories is free to view on the Google Arts & Culture platform. They range from the creation of Central Park in New York, modernist buildings in Ghana to the Picturesque movement and from a century of Olympic buildings to a historic tour of key architectural landmarks in Venice.

Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome: precast concrete roof under construction 1952; RIBA Collections

Featured highlights from the RIBA’s collections include original drawings by Ernö Goldfinger, Sir Charles Barry (Big Ben), Étienne-Louis Boullée and Toyo Ito. Featured projects include work by Walter Gropius, Pier Luigi Nervi, Kenzo Tange, Jane Drew & Maxwell Fry, Zaha Hadid and Diller Scofidio & Renfro. Early photography of New York and Venice (Carlo Ponti, Carlo Naya and Alinari Fratelli) from the 1860s onwards. A photo of the Louvre in Paris under construction in 1846 can be viewed up close, revealing extraordinary levels of detail.

The curated selection illustrates the international scope of RIBA’s Collection, spanning the Renaissance to the present day. It includes some never-before-exhibited objects that showcase more unusual parts of the archive, such as landscape designer Sir Humphrey Repton’s drawings and business card, private photographs from architects, portraits, parks and garden designs.

RIBA’s opening Google Arts & Culture programme features:

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has collected architecture drawings, photographs, books and artefacts for almost 200 years. Take a glimpse into the collection of over 4 million objects

To mark the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale opening in 2021, RIBA shares its collection items to present a unique architectural tour of the ‘floating city’, both past and present.

To celebrate the most recent recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement award, this story looks at five key buildings from the Spanish architect’s sixty-year career.

Explore six civic buildings from the Republic of Ghana, from the time of late imperialism to present day by architects including Jane Drew, Maxwell Fry, Lindsey Drake, Sir Denis Lasdun and a practice still running today, James Cubitt & Partners. Sir David Adjaye’s designs for a new Cathedral for Accra are included.

Discover how the heart of Manhattan and lungs of New York City came about through a unique collaboration between an architect and a farmer. Highlights include original photos from the 1860s of the park’s first bridges.

Erno Goldfinger’s design for the exterior of 1-3 Willow Road, Hampstead, London: perspective view 1934; RIBA Collections

Design for a stage set and proscenium arch for a performance of the opera ‘La Clemenza di Tito, Lisbon Opera House 1755; RIBA Collections

Travel the world and experience the spectacular stadiums that have been built for past Olympic and Paralympic Games. Highlights include photographs of the 1936 Berlin ‘Reichssportfeld’, the 1960 Palazzo dello Sport in Rome, the 1972 Munich Stadium by Otto Frei, key commissions for Barcelona in 1992 and interview footage with Kengo Kuma, designers of the Tokyo Stadium for July 2021.

There is more to a park than a simple stroll. Discover how public parks bring emotional well-being through congregation, creativity and commemoration, featuring details from Gaudi’s Park Güell in Barcelona, memorial parks in Hiroshima and the new Northala Fields park outside London.

Explore the history behind urban parks from around the world, exploring their location and their architectural structures. Millennium Park, Chicago; Maria Luisa Park, Seville; High Line Park, New York and Sefton Park, Liverpool.

Crystal Palace, Sydenham, London: south transept and water tower 1867; RIBA Collections

This story takes you on a scenic trail to experience the aesthetically delightful but highly choreographed ‘Picturesque’ movement. Featuring work by You+Pea.

What makes a style? Explore how popular culture and media impact architectural styles from the Renaissance to present day. With contemporary contributions by Space Popular and featuring the exhibition Freestyle – Architectural Adventures in Mass Media from RIBA’s Architecture Gallery in London.

This story traces how perspective in architectural drawing has been used across 500 years. With contemporary contributions by Sam Jacob Studio.

Find out how the 20th century saw a surge in new thinking about design for children’s play. Featuring recent work from Assemble and Simon Terrill.

On the centenary of the opening of Germany’s most famous art school in 2019, RIBA’s exhibition ‘Beyond Bauhaus’ looked afresh at the influence of three notable Bauhaus teachers on the modern movement in Britain. With 360˚photography of the exhibition from RIBA’s Architecture Gallery.

On the centenary of the opening of Germany’s most famous art school in 2019, RIBA’s exhibition ‘Beyond Bauhaus’ revisited the origin of the modern home in Britain. With 360˚photography of the exhibition from RIBA’s Architecture Gallery.

The Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a global professional membership body and the custodian of one of the world’s oldest and largest architectural collection. Since 1834, it has advocated for excellence in architecture. This feature presents a range of activity by RIBA, working on behalf of architects and architecture.

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