RIBA at The London Archives

The London Archives and Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) have announced a unique collaboration that will - for the first time ever - showcase their impressive collections alongside one another.

From summer 2025, we will host some of the most popular items from the RIBA Collections, one of the largest architectural collections in the world, alongside the archives’ collections of books, documents, manuscripts, maps, images, and photographs.

The partnership will coincide with the temporary closure in April 2025 of RIBA’s renowned library to enable the refurbishment of RIBA’s London headquarters at 66 Portland Place, as part of its House of Architecture transformation programme.

The collaboration will help ensure that RIBA’s collections currently housed at Portland Place remain accessible to users, and within short distance, during the building’s closure period.

The partnership will allow RIBA to utilise our state-of-the-art conservation and digitisation spaces, ensuring that vital work on conserving rare books and digitising RIBA’s collections continues seamlessly during the refurbishment of 66 Portland Place.

Not only will this unique partnership offer continued access to RIBA’s collections, it also represents a valuable opportunity to create new possibilities for research, learning, and public programming that showcases the richness of these collections. The team at The London Archives - arguably, one of the jewels in the City Corporation’s crown - are looking forward to working with RIBA and providing a warm welcome to its many thousands of library users next year.

Our partnership with The London Archives is an exciting step towards ensuring that our invaluable collections are as widely accessible and well-cared for as possible. This collaboration is not only about preserving access to RIBA’s 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 – indeed, anyone with an interest in, or passion for, architecture. Together, we will unlock exciting opportunities that showcase the dynamic interplay of architecture, history, and culture.

We look forward to welcoming the RIBA team to The London Archives and will share updates and information about the partnership as it develops, both here and through our regular mailing list updates.

Explore related content

You can explore content related to the built environment via the London Picture Archive which contains over 250,000 images relating to London. From housing to bridges, parks and maps you will find a wealth of material in the collections at The London Archives.