It may have been founded 188 years ago, but the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) finds itself reluctantly facing a range of 21^st-century issues. Yet rather than asserting architecture’s relevance in tackling today’s environmental, social, and cultural crises, RIBA has, so far, fallen back into bureaucracy and defensiveness. At a time when new labor unions, activist groups, and other critical networks are working to make serious changes in the profession, isn’t it time that flagship bodies like RIBA step up?

RIBA is a vast, sprawling organization, with nearly 50,000 members—24,000 architects in the UK and 4,500 internationally, along with about 22,000 students. It organizes cultural events, runs competitions and awards, and provides professional services and academic accreditation. It also publishes the RIBA Journal (which I write for).