What Treasures Does the RIBA Library Preserve?

TL;DR

The RIBA Library preserves more than four million architectural items, making its collections among the world’s three largest and the finest in Europe. Its books, periodicals, photographs, drawings, and archives allow researchers to trace buildings from early sketches through construction and completion, while revealing connections among architects, designs, engineering, and historical movements.

Transcript

Um, so I don't know how much you already know about the RIBA and the RIBA Library, but I just thought I'd give you, um, a bit of a general introduction. Uh, the RIBA, the Royal Institute of British Architects, was founded in 1834, and, uh, one of the, the, the... immediately one of the aims was to also establish a library, um, that was an architect... Read More

Key Insights

• The RIBA Library is one of the world’s three leading architectural libraries and the largest in Europe, with more than four million items covering architecture and related subjects in numerous languages and formats.
• The library was established when the Royal Institute of British Architects was founded in 1834, and its first donation came from Sir Charles Barry. Continued donations and collecting caused steady growth and recurring pressure on storage space.
• The collections are divided between two institutions: books, periodicals, early works, and photographs are at 66 Portland Place, while the combined drawings and archives collection is housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
• The RIBA and Victoria and Albert Museum partnership began in 2004 to promote the enjoyment and understanding of architecture. It provides collection storage, staff offices, a permanent joint architecture gallery, and space for temporary exhibitions.
• Architectural archives reveal complete project narratives by connecting correspondence, preliminary sketches, formal drawings, construction records, and photographs of completed buildings. The Viceroy’s House materials demonstrate how multiple formats can document both design development and the architect’s personality.
• The De La Warr Pavilion records connect an early staircase sketch, a drawing of the whole building, construction photography, and images of the finished structure. They also enable comparison with an earlier staircase designed by Eric Mendelsohn in Berlin in 1930.
• The London Zoo penguin pool materials include a presentation panel, early project drawings, a model inspected by penguins, construction photography, and completed views. They also document the spiral ramp designed by engineer Ove Arup.
• The book collection contains more than 150,000 volumes, including about 4,000 early works dating from the 15th century to 1840. Highlights include numerous editions of Vitruvius and a copy of Palladio’s architectural treatise formerly owned by Lord Burlington.

Questions & Answers

Q: What does the RIBA Library collection contain?

The RIBA Library collections contain more than four million items in various languages and formats. Their materials include books, periodicals, early printed works, photographs, architectural drawings, and archives. Subjects range from architecture from prehistory to the present to construction, engineering, landscape architecture, interior design and decoration, planning, and construction law. More than 150,000 books form one major part of this extensive research resource.

Q: Where are the RIBA architectural collections housed?

The collections are divided between two principal locations. The RIBA headquarters at 66 Portland Place houses books, periodicals, early printed works, and the photographs collection. The drawings and archives, now administered as a joint collection, are housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum. That museum also provides offices for collection staff and spaces where architectural objects can be displayed to visitors.

Q: Why did the RIBA partner with the Victoria and Albert Museum?

The RIBA established its partnership with the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2004 to promote the enjoyment and understanding of architecture. The arrangement also addressed the RIBA’s longstanding shortage of space by providing accommodation for drawings, archives, and staff. It created a permanent architecture gallery containing items from both institutions, along with a smaller gallery used for temporary exhibitions.

Q: How did the RIBA Library begin and develop?

The architectural library was established alongside the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1834. Sir Charles Barry provided its first donation, after which the institute encouraged members to contribute additional materials. Continuous growth created repeated space problems and required changes of premises. The drawings collection later occupied Portman Square from 1972 until 2004, when it moved to the Victoria and Albert Museum under the new partnership.

Q: How can researchers trace a building through the RIBA collections?

Researchers can connect different collection formats to reconstruct a building’s development from conception to completion. For Viceroy’s House, the archives contain a letter from Lutyens to his wife with sketches, the drawings collection holds a more formal design, and the photographs collection documents the completed building. A caricature bust made by his collaborators adds another perspective on the architect and his design vocabulary.

Q: What do the De La Warr Pavilion records reveal?

The De La Warr Pavilion records show several stages of the project, including an early staircase sketch, a drawing of the entire building, a photograph of the staircase under construction, and a photograph of the completed structure. They also support comparisons across Eric Mendelsohn’s work, particularly between the pavilion staircase and one he designed for the IG Metal building in Berlin in 1930.

Q: What materials document the London Zoo penguin pool?

The penguin pool is represented by a presentation panel with drawings from the project’s early stages, an image of penguins inspecting the model, a construction photograph, and completed views. One construction image highlights the spiral ramp designed by engineer Ove Arup. Together, these records show how drawings, models, engineering documentation, and photography can illuminate a single architectural project.

Q: Why are the RIBA Library’s early printed books important?

The library holds about 4,000 early works dating from the 15th century through 1840, including many rare books. Its holdings include about 55 versions of Vitruvius’s architectural text in different languages, a 16th-century German architectural manual showing a building site, and Palladio’s I Quattro Libri dell’Architettura. One particularly valuable Palladio copy was owned by Lord Burlington.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The Royal Institute of British Architects founded its architectural library alongside the institute in 1834. Beginning with a donation from Sir Charles Barry, the collections grew continually through member contributions and later acquisitions. They now encompass more than four million items covering architecture, engineering, construction, planning, landscape architecture, interiors, decoration, and construction law.

• The British Architectural Library operates across two locations. Books, periodicals, early printed works, and photographs are kept at the RIBA headquarters at 66 Portland Place. Drawings and archives are housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum through a partnership established in 2004, which also supports permanent and temporary architectural exhibitions.

• The collections document design as a connected process rather than as isolated finished buildings. Letters, sketches, formal drawings, construction photographs, models, and completed views illuminate projects such as Viceroy’s House, the De La Warr Pavilion, and London Zoo’s penguin pool. Palladio-related materials also reveal architectural influence across periods and places.