Moving Forward: RIBA's Catherine Clark on Sharing Knowledge and Creating Communities of Support

By Julia Gamolina

Catherine is a British architect who has worked in both London and New York City. She now runs Royal Institute of British Architects, North America. She was previously elected as the President of the RIBA-USA. Catherine spearheaded the interests of British and American architects in working towards reinstating a Mutual Recognition Agreement between the regulatory bodies in both countries. It was ratified in 2023. She is registered in both the UK and the USA. In her interview with Julia Gamolina, Catherine talks about how her experience moving from the UK to the US eventually paved the way for her advocacy focus, advising those just starting their careers to know that they can put their architecture degree to use however they want to.

JG: As President of RIBA based in the United States, you reinstated licensure reciprocity between the US and the UK in your tenure. That’s no small feat, and I wish there was reciprocity between more countries. Tell me about this.

When I moved back to New York after getting my license in architecture in the UK, I was invited to meet a group of RIBA members living and working here in NYC. Having just had my first child, it occurred to me how this might be an opportunity to create a support network for British architects here and to foster a community that I felt was lacking when I first came here.

I went on to become the Chair of the New York Chapter of the RIBA-USA in 2016 and then was elected to President in 2020. As President, my main focus was reinstating a reciprocal agreement since it was a subject that came up in every meeting of RIBA members here. During a seminar held by the British American Business Council in 2018 I asked the UK Minister for Trade a question about reciprocity for architects and within weeks was meeting with a delegation from Whitehall about the possibility. Like any major architecture project, it was years of meetings and negotiations, but the Mutual Recognition Agreement between the regulators of architecture in the US and UK was ratified last year.

MRA Celebration at the British Embassy, April 2023, Washington DC. From left; John McAslan, Phil Allsopp, Catherine Clark, Alun Moreton, Catherine Davis, Frank Mruk, Harriet Harriss, Tim Clark, Emily Grandstaff-Rice. Courtesy of Catherine Clark.

How did the role at RIBA come about for you in the first place? How have you evolved with the organization since joining?

I have been involved with the RIBA since my student days. I volunteered at the RIBA in Portland Place London since my school of architecture was in the neighboring Bloomsbury. As a Masters student I helped coordinate the AV at the RIBA’s weekly lecture series given by all of the luminaries of the era — Alvaro Siza, Eduardo Souto de Moura, all of the Dutch and Swiss movers and shakers — MVRDV, Koolhaus, Hertzog and DeMeuron — as well as Peter Zumthor, Moshe Safdie, Thom Mayne, and Shigeru Ban. One of the only women I remember seeing was Odile Decq and of course, our local hero, Zaha.

I also helped catalogue the RIBA drawings collection in a dilapidated mansion on Portman Square, which is now a private members club. It was incredible to be able to handle Erno Goldfinger’s hand renderings and Jorn Utzon’s ‘Spherical Solution’ model for the Sydney Opera House.

Let’s go back even further — tell me about why you studied architecture.

My mother is a PhD in Planning who taught history of architecture for twenty-five years and my father is a conservation architect — he eschewed the family business and went to architecture school, becoming the first in his family to go to university. My family’s idea of a good time was visiting buildings and learning about their histories and why cities were shaped as they were. As much as I had wished at the time for a more conventional family, I appreciate now that their passion shaped my global perspective. They still seek to make their own city better, and in the past were founders of various Housing Associations to improve the quality of social housing and Preservation Trusts, to save the best of the past.

In addition to this, I always loved to draw and make sculptures, and at school my favorite subjects were physical and human geography and modern languages. I have always enjoyed interacting with all types of people so when it came time to deciding on an undergraduate degree it seemed obvious that architecture would be the right choice.

“Taking small steps to make a difference is important to me, whether it be volunteering at my children’s school to help with their musical, or connecting two professionals who might benefit from knowing each other so that they might get to their end goals more quickly and successfully.”

— Catherine Clark

How did you choose where you studied architecture?

In choosing a school of architecture, I really loved the dynamism of Glasgow and was lucky to be offered a place at the Mackintosh School of Architecture, but in the end was lured to London to study at The Bartlett, University College London. The energy of The Bartlett was incredible and intense. Deconstructivism was still the prevailing style as a contemporary iteration of Archigram, with Peter Cook at the helm. I found myself gravitating to the more pragmatic approach of the building-based units as my purpose of studying architecture was pretty altruistic. Brilliant things were being done in the public realm in Europe and I wanted to make that part of my practice.

How did you get your start in practice?

After getting my undergrad degree in architecture, I did my “year out” in professional practice in New York City returning to where I had done an internship the previous summer at 1100 Architects. It was a new firm with women partners which specialized in high-end residential and commercial projects. I was given a project to run which was a baptism of fire at the age of twenty-one! I loved the site visits, working with the crafts people from all around the world and negotiating design elements with the design team.

You then went on to get your Masters. What did you do next?

I took a position with the former tutor of phenomenology from The Bartlett where we worked on really bold, colorful sculptural work for universities around London. But my favorite job in London was working as a Project Architect for Anne Thorne Architects Partnership in North London in the mid-Noughties. We did social housing, master planning, schools and kindergartens all to passive house standards at a time where the government in London was really investing in the periphery of the city. We were trying to raise the quality of life for those in the less advantaged parts of the city. At ATAP I learned about participation with the community prior to the design process, canvassing opinions to find out how a proposed design might better people’s environment.

It was this kind of caring approach that really resonated. Our mission was so simple — give people, wherever possible, what they want and need. Post-occupancy evaluations clearly showed that people in these communities were happier, their bills were lower because of the super insulation and good quality materials, and they had access to green space and community areas to foster their interests.

What did you when you then got back to New York? And how did you eventually start your own practice?

I worked at Dattner Architects on New York’s first “Green” school. The site was the last lot to be developed in Battery Park City, and previously ear-marked to become a Skyscraper Museum, which eventually moved one block south. BPC had rapidly filled with families and a delegation had gone to Albany to petition for the opening of a school. As there was no Principle or student body to engage with, I had to rely on my London school building knowledge to advocate for the future students of New York City. We negotiated an outdoor science classroom which had previously been ear-marked for an air condensing unit. This space, adjacent to the middle school science labs on the 9th floor, has uninterrupted views of the New York City Harbor.

When I started my family, I set up a firm with two friends and we ran that for years doing high end residential and commercial in Brooklyn and Manhattan. We worked on a range of projects such as an outpost of a famous Roman restaurant in Williamsburg, the design of which was distilled into an icon in the New Yorker’s “Tables for Two” feature, brownstone renovations in Brooklyn and an apartment in a 5th Avenue building for a world-renowned fashion family. The latter was an incredible experience working with the highest-end GCs in the city.

Looking back at it all, what have been the biggest challenges? How did you both manage through perceived disappointments or setbacks?

I lost my job a couple of times. That was really hard. I have a really supportive partner who happens to be a psychiatrist, so I get a lot of free therapy! But ultimately, and perhaps sounding rather cliched, those setbacks led to some of the best experiences of my life so far. You have to keep believing in yourself and pick yourself up and carry on and don’t worry if it takes a minute. You will get there when you can and then you will with the right community of family, friends and colleagues, thrive again.

Moving countries so much has no doubt added to my desire to share knowledge between the UK and US. This was my motive for representing architects in working to reinstate the Mutual Recognition Agreement. When I found myself in a tight spot over Covid with architecture work slowing down, I turned up my advocacy work at the RIBA and that’s when I spent hours meeting with the British Government in the US and the US and UK regulators to try to move reciprocity for architects forward.

What is something that didn't turn out as you would have hoped, and what did you make of the experience?

I have had some horrible experiences in the high-end residential and commercial realm with GCs who were in a pinch and chose to blame the architects in order to deflect the heat from their own failings. Even today, some GCs have a hard time working with women architects which can be very unpleasant. I would love to see more women running and working in GC companies! Overall, progress is being made in the construction realm in many states including New York and California where priority is now being given to award public contracts to women, minority and veteran owned businesses. This will really help move things in a new direction.

We were also asked to a design a pavilion for an artist friend in LA, akin to the Serpentine in London, to house her artworks but also as a Cinema Sanctuary for the early films of pioneering women filmmakers. She requested that everyone on the project be women. This was a few years ago but it was super hard to fulfil even the design team request. I don’t know any female mechanical engineers, yet! The Smithsonian was interested in funding this project but Covid hit and halted progress — I would still love to realize this project.

“I love creating communities to support and evolve our profession so that we can collectively make the built environment a happier, healthier and more sustainable place where people and biodiversity thrive.”

— Catherine Clark

Who are you admiring now and why?

I admire people who move the dial, lead with grace, and raise up those around them, as well as artists and architects who help us to make sense of the human experience. There is so much hyperbole around Climate Action for example, but we need to keep moving forward, design buildings that are truly built to last with good quality materials and ensure we don’t make mistakes from the past in the future. “Long life loose fit” was what I learned on a Masters in Sustainability course in London many moons ago. In Chicago I attended a seminar by Grace Kuklinski Rappe about the Chicago Women in Architecture’s Ladders to Leadership program. It focuses on elevating mid-career architects by providing them with the tools, mentors and industry wide connections to elevate their current and future standing, and encouraging them to do the same for future generations.

And when I feel overwhelmed, I always turn to nature — vast, sublime landscapes are my solace. I am eternally grateful to one of the most important UK and US partnerships, Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux for their interventions in New York City. I walk our dog in Fort Greene Park every morning and when time permits, I love to run the loop in Prospect Park. The ultimate treat is a hike along the sand at Jacob Riis Park admiring the power and force of the Atlantic, no matter the time of year. It always soothes the soul and it’s inspiring to think of that great New York City social reformer who fought to give us that access.

Lockeepers Cottage at Queen Mary University London. Photography by Kilian O’Sullivan.

What is the impact you’d like to have on the world? What is your core mission? And, what does success in that look like to you?

On a micro-scale, taking small steps to make a difference is important to me, whether it be volunteering at my children’s school to help with their musical, or connecting two professionals who might benefit from knowing each other so that they might get to their end goals more quickly and successfully. I love creating communities to support and evolve our profession so that we can collectively make the built environment a happier, healthier and more sustainable place where people and biodiversity thrive.

On the macro-scale, I hope to continue supporting knowledge sharing within the global north for best practice in the built environment. We face similar problems with climate change, an increase in flooding in areas of human habitation and climate enforced mass migration for example. What best practice can be shared? Can we affect policy change to shift development away from vulnerable land and how can we plan for future climate events to help protect people, families and their most valuable assets?

Finally, what advice do you have for those starting their career? Would your advice be any different for women?

Architecture is such a dynamic and wide field. The education gives you the discipline to have an idea and figure out a path to make it happen and deliver it. It is such a useful skill set that is transferable to so many areas of the creative world and beyond, so jump in and find your own path. No two students in the same class in the same school end up doing the same thing – it’s wild!

To all young architects I would say get your license as soon as is reasonable. Don’t sweat it, but it is easier done earlier in your career. But for women specifically, don’t be afraid to forge your own path especially if you decide that having a family is something you also want to pursue. And don’t stop there, keep following what is interesting to you and don’t be afraid to ask for help along the way. In this vein, my dad’s advice was to specialize. For him it was historic buildings, for me it was social housing, schools, then high-end homes, and latterly architectural advocacy. Keep pushing for better built environments in whichever form makes sense for you and don’t be afraid of a mid-career pivot. We need to leave behind a legacy that our future generations will be proud of.