IDK

'A collaboration with Freehaus to reimagine the headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects as a public home for architecture.'
This collective vision to revitalise the RIBA building at 66 Portland Place, London, was developed by a broad team of industry professionals. IDK led on the approach to exhibition design, creating a bold new cultural offer within the building. Four key galleries for Members, Collections, the Public and Public Affairs were reconfigured to thread throughout the physical and cultural fabric of the building and exert their influence beyond its walls. Each interwoven seam allowed programmes, events and visitors to mix and cross-fertilise, enriching the experience as part of an expanded cultural offer. By stripping back, challenging and making visible the material and narrative layers of 66 Portland Place, the proposal radically enshrined the fundamental historic and public values of the RIBA into the institution’s architecture. And re-rooting the building's history democratised it to create transparent, engaged and connected spaces that belong to and serve the people.


Project: The RIBA, 66 Portland Place
Location: London
Year: 2022
Type: Retrofit
Surface: Competition
Collaborators: Freehaus, Donald Insall Associates