020 REPORTER
Left He has been the youngest president of RIBA
Below RIBA’s AI in Practice Summit: Oki thinks it’s ‘vitally important for architecture to embrace new technology’
which involves upgrading buildings to improve energy eficiency, extend their lifespan and enhance their adaptability – is more critical now than ever. With around 80% of the buildings that will be in use in 2050 already built, if we’re serious about cutting carbon emissions and achieving net zero, the retrofit of our existing building stock must be a top priority. This is a cause that has been central to
my presidency, and I’ve been working to push retrofit up the national agenda through initiatives like our Retrofit Roadshows. This series of events, the first held in Wiltshire in July, have helped bring together industry leaders, share best practices, and highlight the vital role that local skills and expertise play in making retrofit a success.
What have you learnt during your tenancy to make you a better architect? The fundamental thing I’ve learned as RIBA president is to be open to other peoples’ ideas and opinions, and to be ready to adapt accordingly. Those qualities will help me be a better architect, I think. Listening more and having a proper dialogue with the people I’m designing for is absolutely key, so I’m really looking forward to putting those skills into action.
Any words of advice to your successor Chris Williamson, who will have the role until 2027? I wouldn’t presume to give Chris any advice, other than to enjoy it. He will be a fantastic president and I’m excited to see what direction RIBA takes under his leadership.
What’s next for you and your career with Mace? I’ll go back full-time now. I hope to bring what I have learnt at the RIBA – about design standards and influencing – into the way the company works. Further down the line, I don’t know what the future holds. After this opportunity, the world’s my oyster.
Can you share what you’re currently working on? I am working on various bids for major programmes across the globe with Mace as delivery partner.
Anything else you what to add? I’ve met the most amazing people and been inspired over and again by the breadth of talent and creativity that exists in our profession. As I step down from the role I feel even more committed to championing architects and architecture. It’s been a fantastic journey, and with so
many highlights it’s hard to single out one, but I think receiving my honorary doctorate from Lancashire University in July has to be up there!
Chris Williamson (pictured, right) became RIBA president, succeeding Muyiwa Oki, on 1 September 2025. He is a chartered architect and is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. In 1999-2001 he was chair of the RIBA Architecture Centre and then its ambassador for business skills 2015-2017. More recently, he was vice-president international 2017-2019, responsible for setting a strategy to grow into a global membership institution and to encourage more UK architects to seek work globally.
PHOTO: JACKIE KING
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