On 1 January 2026, Chris Williamson took a deliberate and provocative step. He allowed his registration with the Architects Registration Board to lapse, describing the framework as ‘absurd’.<\/p>\n
In practical terms, the sitting President of the RIBA, a practitioner with more than forty years\u2019 experience and the founder of one of the UK\u2019s most successful practices, can no longer legally call himself an architect.<\/p>\n
“Since I was 18 it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. But to be asked to pay an annual fee (which is increasing each year) to the ARB for the title – when the function isn’t regulated seems madness.”<\/p>\n
This conversation was filmed in the weeks leading up to that announcement. It captures Chris at a moment of conviction, before he went public with a decision that challenges how the UK regulates the built environment.<\/p>\n
As a working class kid, Chris was told architecture wasn\u2019t for “the likes of him.” Decades later, as RIBA President and co-founder of Weston Williamson + Partners, he’s reshaped global cities through transport and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
If you are interested in how architecture survives the collision of technological shift, class barriers, commercial pressure, and declining influence – this is for you.<\/p>\n