Exploring and shaping tomorrow - Future Business of Architecture

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has launched an evidence-based, research programme exploring the future business of architecture.

• The research programme will be complemented by four RIBA Academy CPD webinars, exploring what it means to be future ready as an individual and a practice
• It will culminate in a global interactive online conference on 8 October 2025.

Through this initiative, RIBA recognises the testing business environment the design and construction industry is currently navigating.

The 2020s has been a period of uncertainty with global economic and political turbulence. For many architectural practices, it is manifesting in a downward pressure on fees combined with upward drivers on cost, making turning a profit a challenge.

Ensuring the long-term sustainability of architectural practice requires looking beyond the immediate noise and disruption of the current turmoil. By focusing on the decade to come, the Future Business of Architecture programme aims to provide the long view sharpened by the lenses of data analysis and quantitative and qualitative research. The programme will provide architects with actionable insights into opportunities and challenges.

Rooted in the RIBA strategy to ‘make the future a better place’, the research project examines how architects can be business-viable agents of change, even in a time of unprecedented technological change and ongoing economic uncertainty.

Future Business of Architecture is the second phase of the horizon-scanning programme, RIBA Horizons 2034. It draws on evidence from five sources to develop ‘future scenarios’ to help practices thrive in the next ten years.

The five sources are:

• a business-focussed evaluation of RIBA Horizons 2034,
• expert insights,
• in-depth interviews,
• an attitudinal survey,
• trend analysis.

As practices face increasingly unpredictable market conditions, the Future Business of Architecture will also help inform the debate about how to be resilient today and future-ready tomorrow. It will explore the potential of AI and other technologies to help or hinder design and business efficiencies.

RIBA President, Muyiwa Oki said: “It’s an exciting time for our profession but there are significant challenges and a degree of uncertainty for individuals and practices. What is certain is the need to be as well informed as possible about the current and future direction of travel for architecture so that we can adapt and thrive.

“As our latest AI report has demonstrated, architects are more willing and curious than ever to embrace the new to enhance their creativity and productivity, so I have no doubt that they will be equally enthusiastic about this programme and its potential to spark debate and share knowledge.”