Lewis North: RIBA Council Member
Architecture North is delighted to announce that our Director, Lewis North, has now officially been welcomed onto the RIBA council.
Lewis takes the uncontested seat as Associate Member, a position that he can now hold for up to three years as an elected member of the council.
Lewis’ elevation to the council is a position that he is immensely proud to undertake and is already determined to help make a lasting, positive impact on raising industry standards across the sector.
Education, Education, Education
A key focus for Lewis at RIBA is to look at improving a greater connection between existing architectural practices and architecture schools. It is Lewis’s inherent belief that practices should be nurturing students through the use of dedicated course content, alongside personal and professional development within the industry, and this is something that he is keen to hit the ground running with now that he is firmly part of the RIBA council.
For Lewis, it is fundamentally important that our students develop the first-hand experience that they need to be diligent and effective designers by dealing with building contracts and being exposed to face-to-face meetings with clients and contractors from the outset. This is an element this is currently being lost within the educational system and it is Lewis’s mission to help ensure that this changes. Lewis believes that this current school model, for the student and for practices, is not economical, nor does it make good business sense.
Looking to the Future
During Lewis’ induction days at RIBA earlier this month, he was thrilled to attend a great talk from Lucy Carmichael, who discussed the new RIBA code of conduct. This included outlining an environmental approach to business, addressing the gender pay gap within our industry, and gave a sharp focus on ensuring mental well-being at work. All aspects that Lewis wholeheartedly welcomes as key points of focus the future ethos of the industry.
Most importantly is also RIBA's determination in ensuring ethical standards throughout the profession and an important aspect of the work that RIBA do is to communicate with the government on key issues affecting the industry.
For Lewis, It’s important that RIBA council members understand the dynamics of this relationship between Association and Government, and how it can have a positive impact on the future. Not just for our employees and colleagues, but also for the benefit of our clients and the success of future generations.
If you’d like to learn more about the work that the RIBA council do, you can visit the website here. For more information on Architecture North and the projects we undertake, please do get in touch today, we’d love to hear from you!