Royal Institute of British Architects - Library

Library

Established in 1834 upon the founding of the Institute, the RIBA Library, otherwise known as the British Architectural Library, is one of the most important architectural libraries in the world with over four million items. As well its holdings of books and journals (including the 'Early Imprints Collection' of books dating between 1478 and 1840) it has very extensive collections of photographs that include the work of 20th century masters such as Eric de Maré, John Maltby, John Donat and Henk Snoek. The collections of drawings and manuscripts include many architectural drawings by leading British and international architects such as Andrea Palladio, Pugin, Ernő Goldfinger, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Charles Holden and Sir Christopher Wren. The Library also has portraits and architectural models. It also holds the Goodhart-Rendel Index of 19th century church builders, a card index. The biography files on various architects are also a useful resource.

Items from the collections are on permanent display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in the Architecture Gallery. Material from the Library have been seen in museums and galleries across the world, most recently in the exhibition Palladio and His Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey at the Morgan Library and Museum, New York.

The Library is located on the third floor of the RIBA headquarters and is open to the public without charge. It retains the original Art Deco interior designed by the building's architect, George Grey Wornum.