RIBA name new president

The chairman of Bristol-based practice Acanthus Ferguson Mann is the new president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

George Ferguson becomes the 70th president of the Institute having taken over the two-year presidency from Paul Hyett, who now becomes immediate past president. 
 
Ferguson said: "My task is to build on the good work that is being done by the RIBA to encourage better architecture and a broader understanding of the benefits that good planning and design can bring to us all. 

"My absolute priority is to involve young people in architecture and their own environment, to foster greater diversity within our profession and to encourage the demanding of higher and higher standards by an increasingly discerning public and client base.

"To achieve this I shall be working in concert with CABE, English Heritage and our fellow institutes and partners in what amounts to a cultural shift," he said. 
 
Ferguson combines architectural practice with writing, broadcasting and entrepreneurial activity, in pursuit of his interests in sustainable mixed use development and urban regeneration.