Architects and planners mark 175th anniversary of RIBA

Mar 11 2009 by Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post

A conference of 150 of the region’s top architects, designers and planners gathered in Birmingham to celebrate the 175th birthday of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and mark the fifth year of Midlands Architecture and the Designed Environment (MADE).

Alongside the festivities, Dhiran Vagdia, regional chair of RIBA, and Glenn Howells, chairman of MADE, led solemn discussions on how the industry would adapt to the current economic challenges to leave a positive architectural legacy for the region. The evening also featured a master class by RIBA Royal Gold Medallist Ted Cullinan, director of the award winning London-based Edward Cullinan architects.

The event took place at Fazeley Studios, Birmingham’s new £7 million home for creative and digital businesses, which was also announced as the venue for RIBA’s regional member events for 2009. Fazeley Studios was chosen as an example of an innovative development which has achieved commercial success in spite of the credit crunch.

Acknowledging the difficulties faced by the development sector, Mr Howells, warned against cutting costs at the expense of innovation.

“Giving up on our aspirations for a high-quality public realm because of the current climate is akin to throwing away the lifeboat because the raft has become ropey,” he said. “Architects with foresight know that the best projects are not evaluated on a year-end return but on a five or ten-year return.

“It is not just a question of yields, but of making sure that in the future our leading talents and our children won’t want to move somewhere else. It is about ensuring that we can compete with and outshine other cities. MADE has a rigorous assessment processes but I would defy anyone who has been through that process to say that their project is not better as a result. Now more than ever we need to keep our standards high.”

As the regional architecture centre for the West Midlands, the role of MADE is to deliver partnership projects with the region’s developers and encourage a strategy of innovation and public engagement throughout the planning and development process. MADE works closely with the RIBA to promote the role of architects and architecture in the region.

Mr Vagdia reinforced Mr Howells’ call for the region to look at its long term goals rather than compromise in the face of short-term economic challenges.

Mr Vagdia said: “We would have liked to have celebrated such a landmark birthday in better conditions than we are in and it’s true that the scale and pace of change in recent months has left us all wondering what the coming years will bring for the region’s architects.

“However, the year the RIBA was founded, 1834, was a time of political turbulence and economic upheaval as we changed from a rural to an urban economy. The RIBA was formed that year out of a belief in the social and economic value of architecture in times of change and that belief still stands.

“By the time we emerge from the financial storm clouds, we will see changes in public expectations and changes in the way we approach financial design models, but we will have evolved even higher standards and we will have continued to promote the region’s architects and herald their success in creating a public realm that meets the aspirations of the region.”

Digbeth was highlighted as an area that has the potential to contribute significantly towards the future of Birmingham, spearheaded by landmark developments such as Fazeley Studios.

The East Birmingham & North Solihull Regeneration Zone (ebns Ltd), supported by Advantage West Midlands, sponsored the celebrations as part of their investment in Digbeth and Eastside as a Learning and Leisure Quarter and a centre for the creative industries, particularly the digital media.

Graham Edwards, chief executive of ebns, said: “Whilst we acknowledge the difficult economic conditions, it is vitally important that we press on with our plans for regenerating Digbeth and Eastside so we can help the area ‘trade itself’ through the recession.

“At the heart of our plans is a deep-rooted desire to create a high quality public realm and develop buildings that add real value, both in terms of their economic output and the environment in which they create.”