Journey through Journals: The RIBA Journal

Happy New Year to all!

At the start of 2025 we received the new volume of the RIBA journal. RIBA journal, published by Royal Institute of British Architects in some form since 1893, is aimed at Architects and Architects in the Making, perfect reading for our architecture and civil engineering students. This popular title is a journal students will continue to draw on once graduated and moved into the industry. 

Each issue is comprised of 3 sections:  

1. Buildings : Case studies and profiles of new buildings, how they’re designed and constructed. 
2. Intelligence : Articles on the theories, practices, and approaches to architecture, the perfect place to learn about the industry as a whole. 
3. Culture : A focus on the people and ideas behind the industry. 

Articles within the journal are tagged with symbols to mark subject areas (such as sustainable architecture) making it easier to browse for topics you find most interesting.

Let dive into the 2025 issue & explore the sections 

1. Building -  explores different projects ranging from a renovation project on Calverly Old Hall which delves into the balance between preserving the historic legacy of this Grade I listed building and meeting modern regulations about climate measures to an examination of Scott Brownrigg’s Shinfield Studios which are specially designed for their sound proofing for filming, including diagrams and photos on how the site was built and requirements met. 
2. Intelligence - Covers a wide variety of topics, for example a piece on the President’s Medals awards 2023 displaying the winning entries and students interviews provides an excellent insight into up-and-coming concepts in Architecture and potential inspiration for students considering entering themselves. An article exploring the economic side of architecture, discusses the chance of growth within the industry in 2025, drawing on historic trends, looking at sustainability as a driver of growth, and comparing commercial projects with the public sector. This is a good example of how the journal provides opportunities for our students to contextualise areas of study and prepare for the wider world. 
3. Culture -  Includes a profile on “The Persuaders”, aka American architects David Lake and Ted Flako who are working on bringing sustainability and environmentalism into the Deep South of America, where these concepts have historically had a lot of pushback. Check out this piece to see how their approach and successes have earned them their nickname. 

As you can see RIBA Journal provides a wide depth and variety. The current issue is available on display on the ground floor, while back issues are on the third floor under PER 720. 

If you are looking for further resources on architecture check out our subject page. 

We also have a number of books published by RIBA available via LibrarySearch