{"id":4961,"date":"2026-02-16T09:45:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T10:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/?p=4961"},"modified":"2026-02-20T08:40:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T08:40:37","slug":"it-looks-like-im-some-sort-of-renegade-but-im-actually-not-says-chris-williamson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/16\/it-looks-like-im-some-sort-of-renegade-but-im-actually-not-says-chris-williamson\/","title":{"rendered":"“It looks like I’m some sort of renegade, but I’m actually not” says Chris Williamson"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"RIBA<\/div>\n

RIBA<\/a> president Chris Williamson<\/a> explains how he’s trying to make an impact despite limited power in this exclusive interview<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s only been six months since Williamson became president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) but he has already generated multiple headlines, first for renouncing his architect title<\/a> and then for his proposal for The Loop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While he was still president elect, he was in the news over his defence of his studio’s work on Neom<\/a>, the controversial giga-project in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

“I try not to do anything half-hearted,” he told Dezeen. “It looks as though I’m acting alone as some sort of renegade, but I’m actually not.”<\/p>\n

“I think people do appreciate that I’m trying to do the right thing and I’m doing it to try and show what an architect can do.”<\/p>\n

“From time to time you need to be bold”<\/strong><\/p>\n

After initially being concerned he may not be able to make an impact in his presidency, Williamson got the idea to give up his architect title after presenting a group of students with their Part 3 certificates.<\/p>\n

“For the first two or three months, I was going home thinking, ‘two years is going to fly by and I’m not really making any difference’,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I was giving out 300 certificates to Part 3 students and having to explain to their parents that you can’t call yourself an architect unless you pay the subscription fee to ARB [the Architects Registration Board<\/a>] and it just seemed to be bonkers,” he continued.<\/p>\n

“And I just thought, this is something I can do something about.”<\/p>\n

To Williamson’s surprise, when he suggested the idea of terminating his registration with ARB, and therefore no longer being able to use the title of architect, the RIBA was very supportive.<\/p>\n