Photography: Agenese Sanvito
Talent is a skill that can be better realised as part of a shared community—this is why co-working and business incubators keep springing up across cities for different sectors. A good example of this would be the RIBA Incubator at the Royal Institute of British Architects. This London-based project is committed to taking architectural talent to the next level.
The incubator for new architects is focused around the London Institute’s values of sustainability, inclusivity and professional ethics. Not for nothing is RIBA a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact with a commitment to improving practice so as to combat modern slavery and people trafficking. This commitment inspired the creation of the RIBA Incubator and its mission to train professionals who seek excellence through ethical and sustainable approaches.
‘The RIBA Incubator was started in 2015. Our aim was to bring architects into the RIBA headquarters and provide support for starting architectural projects at a reasonable cost in terms of desk hire’, explains project director Jessica Davies to The Decorative Surfaces. The project has welcomed young professionals from England, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Somalia, Greece, Egypt and Canada.
According to Davies, the RIBA Incubator is perfect for young emerging professionals seeking to expand their business. ‘Incubator members benefit from networking with their colleagues and have access to a RIBA support programme that helps them develop their business’, she adds. The incubator is located at 76 Portland Place, just a stone’s throw from the historical 1930s RIBA building in central London.
In terms of available space, the RIBA Incubator offers 26 desks spread over two floors and can provide service to 12 chartered practices, architects or projects at different stages in their careers. ‘We often have architects who have been working at large practices for many years and then decided on a change in their career path’, states the project director.
In this sense, those who manage to join the programme run by the Royal Institute of British Architects become part of an ecosystem designed to create a collaboration network amongst project participants and, at the same time, between students and the thousands of companies and clients who take an interest in the Incubator. ‘By being part of a Chartered Practice, they can use the RIBA Find an Architect service that attracts over 60,000 monthly users, most of whom are clients seeking the right architect to work on their project’, sums up Davies.
Photography: Agenese Sanvito
Alongside support in finding work, the programme provides advice on legal, financial and procedural issues involved in running your own business, as well as the necessary training to continue expanding in the professional architecture field. One highlight in the training programme, for example, is the course offered by COMPAC The Surfaces Company to RIBA professionals on the possibilities of creative architectural design with technological quartz and marble, both for interior and exterior applications such as façades, apartment floors, walls and worktops. It also demonstrates applications for kitchen and bathroom surfaces.
In this vein, the RIBA Incubator provides architects with all the necessary tools and knowledge to strengthen their position in the professional market, and much more besides. As we mentioned above, talent is better and more fully realised when shared and, in this sense, the RIBA Incubator explores each participant’s entire potential. It not only offers career opportunities but also underscores self-discovery on the path towards architectural excellence.
