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Delve into 90 years of British architectural history with Google Arts & Culture

Nov 08, 2024

[[read-time]] min read

Explore RIBA's online collection with Google Arts & Culture, featuring new virtual tours and stories.

Muyiwa Oki
President RIBA
Facade of the Royal Institute of British Architects with large window and sculpted columns.
Entrance of 66 Portland Place

As the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) celebrates the 90th anniversary of our home at 66 Portland Place in London, a building specifically designed to house our world-leading architectural collection, which we're looking forward to sharing with a wider audience through our collaboration with Google Arts & Culture

66 Portland Place first opened its doors in 1934, a time when the modern architectural profession was taking shape. This anniversary offers a wonderful opportunity to not only celebrate this incredible building but also delve deeper into the stories held within our collection and archives.

To mark the anniversary, we are deepening our strong partnership with Google Arts & Culture, which began in 2021. Today, we are publishing 10 new digital stories and newly captured Street View imagery of 66 Portland Place on the RIBA collection on Google Arts & Culture, for everyone to explore.

  • Drawing of the interior view of a library with cylindrical steel bookshelves.

    Drawing for the RIBA Library at 66 Portland Place

    Artist: Miriam Wornum and Architects: George Grey Wornum and Miriam Wornum, 1934

  • Black and white photograph of a large room with wooden floor, featuring a carved screen partially covering a floor to ceiling window at the far end of the room. Tall windows line the right side, flooding the space with natural light.

    The Henry Florence Memorial Hall

    Architect: George Grey Wornum (1888-1957) and Photographer: Dell & Wainwright 1934

  • Photograph of children engaged in crafts in a bright room, oval and square cabinets create a geometric background.

    Friends of RIBA tour of 66 Portland Place

    Photographer: Rachel Manns

  • Black and white photograph of symmetrical decorative arrangement with architectural and sculptural elements on black doors.

    Detail of the bronze decoration of the main entrance doors

    Architect: George Grey Wornum (1888-1957), Artist: James Woodford, 1934

The newly released Street View imagery lets you explore the building's grand spaces, including Raymond McGrath’s engraved terrace doors or the Art Deco details of Florence Hall. This virtual tour offers a unique opportunity to experience the architectural details and historical significance of 66 Portland Place, especially as it prepares for closure and refurbishment in 2025.

Two curated stories put the building's spaces in context. RIBA HQ - 66 Portland Place invites you to learn about the history and making of 66 Portland Place and see the most important decorative features while unpacking their symbolism. Imperialism and Empire at 66 Portland Place looks at RIBA’s headquarters’ colonial heritage and the Imperial iconography found around the building. It features the exhibition "Raise the Roof: Building for Change" which we hosted earlier this year, and which sparks crucial conversations about the imperial and colonial narratives embedded within our headquarters.

  • Colourful artwork framed and displayed in a well-lit gallery setting. The artwork depicts an indoor scene with multiple people in front of a retractable mural as it is lowered.

    Carnival of Portland Place

    Artist: Arinjoy Sen, Photographer: Agnese Sanvito 2024

  • Large mural screen at the back of an auditorium with rows of empty blue seats. The screen depicts a central hall with rows of seats amidst scenes of people and architecture.

    Screen on the 'disappearing wall' of the Henry Jarvis Memorial Hall, Royal Institute of British Architects, 66 Portland Place, London

    Architect: George Grey Wornum (1888-1957), Artist: Edward Bainbridge Copnall, Photographer: Christopher Hope Fitch 2021

  • A large wooden screen featuring intricate carved designs in a grid of twenty-five square panels.

    Dominion Screen, Henry Florence Memorial Hall

    Architect: George Grey Wornum (1888-1957), Artist: Denis Dunlop (1892-1959), Photographer: Christopher Hope-Fitch 2021

  • A large wooden screen with a creative intervention of black frames in a grid of twenty-five revealing portions of intricate carved designs and a center panel in high-relief.

    Assembly and the Dominion Screen

    Architect: Giles Tettey Nartey and Photographer: Andy Stagg 2024

RIBA’s latest digital stories also delve into the richness of architectural history and the human narratives that have shaped and been shaped by it, from the role of women in British architecture and how architectural spaces have shaped LGBTQ+ identities to the impact of colour on design.

  • A gray-scale photograph of a person sitting in the corner of a room with light streaming in from a large skylight.

    Chichu Art Museum, Naoshima

    James Turrell 2019

  • A glass and steel two-story house with beige curtains surrounded by a lush garden.

    Eames House

    Photographer: Luis Renau, 1980

  • Eight black and white photographs, assembled in two rows, featuring diverse angles and individuals around a domed cathedral and a bronze fountain.

    Contact sheet of Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo) and the Piazza della Signoria, Florence

    Creator: Architect: Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446); Arnoifo di Cambio (c.1240-c.1302), Photographer: Edwin Smith 1963

  • Interior view of a multi-story building with blue and terracotta walls and multiple balconies creating geometric shapes.

    Walden 7 housing, Sant Just Desvern, Barcelona

    Architect: Ricardo Bofill and Photographer: Anna Dziubinska 2017

We're committed to championing better buildings, stronger communities and a sustainable environment, and that includes ensuring a more inclusive and representative understanding of architectural history. By embracing digital innovation and diverse storytelling, RIBA is reimagining how we understand and engage with the built environment, both past and present.

I invite you to explore the new stories and full collection at g.co/RIBA.

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