A partnership, announced last month (12 December), will see some items from the RIBA\u2019s collection go on display at the City of London-owned London Archives in Clerkenwell, central London, from summer 2025.<\/p>\n
‘Popular’ items from the RIBA archive will sit alongside the City of London\u2019s collection at the London Archives for the first time as part of the deal.<\/p>\n
The temporary move will allow the RIBA\u2019s collection to remain on public display during the planned House of Architecture refurbishment of 66 Portland Place<\/a>, which is due to get under way next year, subject to planning.<\/p>\n The four million items in the RIBA\u2019s collection make it one of the world\u2019s largest architectural archives. It includes books, documents, manuscripts, maps, drawings and photographs.<\/p>\n Oliver-Urquhart Irvine, the RIBA\u2019s executive director of architecture programmes and collections, said the London Archives collaboration will ensure that \u2018invaluable collections are as widely accessible and well cared-for as possible\u2019 during the House of Architecture refurb.<\/p>\n He continued: \u2018This collaboration is not only about preserving access to the RIBA collections while we undertake the transformative refurbishment of 66 Portland Place but also inspiring new discoveries and connecting more deeply with architectural professionals, researchers, students, and the public \u2013 indeed, anyone with an interest in, or passion for, architecture.\u2019<\/p>\n Portland Place is due to shut its doors from April 2025 to allow the \u00a358.8 million Benedetti-designed overhaul of the RIBA\u2019s home to take place. A planning application for the project is due to be submitted early this year.<\/p>\n The refurbishment is part of a wider \u00a385 million investment<\/a> in the RIBA\u2019s collections and technology systems, which will also get an upgrade and come together in one, still unconfirmed, location for the first time.<\/p>\n RIBA president Muyiwa Oki told the AJ in September<\/a> that\u00a0the RIBA was negotiating with the Victoria and Albert museum in South Kensington to extend a deal to host the RIBA\u2019s main collection beyond the current agreement of 2027.<\/p>\n The Victoria and Albert museum has held most of the RIBA\u2019s collection since 2004<\/a>.<\/p>\n