The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has unveiled an inspiring new learning space, within its Grade 2* listed London HQ, designed by Hayhurst & Co.
Including an uplifting new studio and sophisticated study space, along with an external terrace to enable outdoor learning, the RIBA Clore Learning Centre is a destination for people of all ages to engage with architecture.
Using sustainable materials wherever possible – from bamboo floors to drawers made from recycled yoghurt pots – the space is both playful and practical. Its tiered plywood benches provide seating for presentations while doubling as a display area during workshops and the quirky orange cabinetry creates a perfect space to showcase the learners’ creative outputs.
The centre has been made possible by a generous grant from the Clore Duffield Foundation.
RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:
“The RIBA Clore Learning Centre is a fantastic new resource which will enable the RIBA to enhance and expand our highly-successful education programme. Hayhurst & Co have created a beautiful, contemporary environment for creative learning, and a very clever and sensitive addition to our historic building. We are incredibly grateful to the Clore Duffield Foundation who have made it possible.”
Gillian Wolfe CBE, Chair of the Public Education Committee at RIBA, said:
“The new RIBA Clore Learning Centre is unique and it enables RIBA to offer architecture and design learning programmes almost every day, evenings and many weekends all year round. Conceived as a series of delightful and adaptable interventions, Hayhurst & Co’s design enables an interactive learning experience. Innovative courses will encourage people of all ages to care about the built environment to create a more architecturally literate and animated general public.”
The RIBA learning programme offers opportunities, for those from the very young to life-long learners, to explore, question and celebrate the built environment. Inspired by architects past and present and by RIBA’s world-class collection of more than four million items, the programmes encourage learners to think critically and test the bounds of their creativity.
RIBA currently delivers approximately 450 learning events each year, including the RIBA National Schools Programme that has engaged over 22,000 primary and secondary school children since its launch in 2015.