Royal Society of Arts - The RSA Building

The RSA Building

The RSA moved to its current home in 1774. The House, situated near the Strand in central London, had been purpose-designed by the Adam Brothers (James Adam and Robert Adam) as part of their innovative Adelphi scheme completed in 1774. The RSA building has expanded into adjacent buildings in the intervening years (2–6 John Adam Street, plus 18 Adam Street).

The original building includes the Great Room, which features a magnificent sequence of paintings by Irish artist James Barry titled The progress of human knowledge and culture. The RSA House is also available to hire by external clients, too, for conferences etc.

The first occupant of 18 Adam Street was the Adelphi Tavern, which is mentioned in Dickens's The Pickwick Papers. The former private dining room of the Tavern contains a magnificent Adam ceiling with painted roundels by the school of Kauffman and Zucchi. The address was 8 John Street (now 8 John Adam Street).

The RSA devised a scheme for commemorating the links between famous people and buildings by placing plaques on the walls — these continue today as "blue plaques" which are administered by a range of government bodies. The first of these plaques was, in fact, of red terracotta erected outside a former residence of Lord Byron (since demolished). The Society erected 36 plaques until, in 1901, responsibility for them was transferred to the London County Council (which changed the colour of the plaques to the current blue) and, later, the Greater London Council (the G.L.C.) and, most recently, English Heritage. Similar schemes are now operated in all the constituent countries of the United Kingdom.