The RIBA Council and the Young Architect's Voice, ft. Benjamin Champion

In this Architecture Social Podcast conversation (about 53 minutes), Stephen Drew speaks with Benjamin Champion, a newly qualified architect at Sheehan Nagle Hartray Architects, about standing for the RIBA Council, giving younger professionals a voice, and the role that community and technology play in an architecture career.

Who this is for

Newly qualified architects, Part 2 assistants and students weighing up whether and how to engage with the RIBA and the wider profession, along with anyone interested in community building, professional representation and early career development.

Learning outcomes

1. You will be able to explain what the RIBA Council associate seat is and why a younger professional voice matters.
2. You will be able to describe the difference between the student, associate, chartered and affiliate routes into RIBA membership.
3. You will be able to identify practical ways to make the profession more public facing and easier for clients to engage.
4. You will be able to recognise how community, mentoring and informal networks support early career development.
5. You will be able to reflect on the transition from Part 3 qualification into early practice.
6. You will be able to consider how shared interests and technology can help architects connect.

Qualifying is a beginning, not a finish line

Benjamin describes qualifying as an architect as strangely anticlimactic. He compares it to passing a driving test: you are now allowed to work unsupervised, but there is still a great deal to learn. The title is a milestone rather than an end point.

Learning from different practice cultures

Early work experience in Munich showed him how differently practice can operate from one country to another. He noticed architects abroad seemed to carry more authority over the outcome of a building, and he picked up small but useful design habits along the way.

Design for how people actually live

One example stuck with him: a mentor questioned why he placed doors tight into the corners of a room, pointing out that setting a door away from the wall leaves room to build in a wardrobe. It is a reminder that storage and daily use deserve as much attention as plan efficiency and unit counts.

Why he stood for the RIBA Council

Benjamin stood for the associate seat because he saw a widespread appetite for change and wanted to contribute a younger professional voice. He gathered nominations from his previous practices and put himself forward rather than staying on the sidelines.

Membership routes are poorly understood

He only recently learned that student membership of the RIBA is free, having assumed for years that it carried a cost. His own experience highlights how little clarity there often is around student, associate and affiliate membership, and why that is worth fixing.

Making the profession more public facing

A recurring theme is the sense that architecture struggles to influence how buildings turn out and how the public sees the profession. Benjamin wants to help demystify the process of engaging an architect and build stronger links between the institute, students and the public.

Community, networking and simply asking

Much of his early engagement grew out of the Architecture Social community, from a book club to running Dungeons and Dragons sessions. His practical advice, learned from his father, is simple: build a network and be willing to message people and ask to talk. Most people say yes.

Key terms

RIBA Council: the elected body that governs the Royal Institute of British Architects. Associate member: a membership category that includes those working towards or supporting the profession without full chartered status. Chartered member: a fully qualified, registered architect member of the RIBA. Part 3: the final professional practice examination on the route to qualifying as an architect. Architectural assistant: a person working in practice at Part 1 or Part 2 stage before full qualification.

Reflective prompts for your CPD record

1. How engaged are you currently with the RIBA or your professional institution, and what is one step you could take to have more of a voice?
2. Where in your own work do plan efficiency and unit counts risk crowding out how people will actually live in or use a space?
3. Who could you reach out to this month to widen your professional network, and what would you ask them?

About the guest

Benjamin Champion is a London based architect at Sheehan Nagle Hartray Architects who qualified in 2020. He is an active member and moderator of the Architecture Social community and stood for the RIBA Council associate seat in 2021, motivated by making the profession more public facing and improving how the institute connects with students and architectural assistants.