Libraries, museums and bookstores: Royal Institute of British Architects Library (RIBA)

Monday to Friday
from 11am to 5pm
(open Tuesdays from 12pm to 7pm)

RIBA
66 Portland Place 
London W1B 1AD

The closest stations are:

• Oxford Circus
• Regents Park
• Great Portland Street 

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects which was founded in 1834 and received a royal charter granted in 1837 and under a new charter in 1971. Today, the RIBA'S aims are :

• lead and support the highest professional and ethical standards
• attract and retain the best and most diverse talent
• provide access to education, knowledge and skills
• help our members engage with the challenges and opportunities of a changing world
• build a body of knowledge and facilitate collaboration, research and innovation in practice

The library opened the same year as the Institute, in 1834. It is one of the three largest architectural libraries in the world and the largest in Europe. Its collections include:

• Archives: architects' personal papers, correspondence, notebooks and diaries.
• Audiovisual materials: Talks held at the RIBA
• Biographical files: 20,000 biographical files relating to a specific architect or firm. 
• Books: 150,000 books and 20,000 pamphlets, with the earliest book dating from 1478.
• Drawings: 1 million items are held. These predominantly cover British architects from the Renaissance to the present day
• Models: Examples come from architects 
• Periodicals: 2,000 architectural titles collected
• Photographs: 1.5 million items

The Library is free and open to all.

You don't need to book an appointment to visit it, except if you want to check the Photographs Collections. 

Within the library browsing of open shelves is allowed and you will be able to request closed access items on the day of your visit.

You need to bring a photo I.D when visiting the library.

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