Claire Pollock awarded RIBA Honorary Fellowship 18.04.24

AHMM’s Partnerships Lead, Claire Pollock, has been made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. RIBA Honorary Fellowships are awarded every year to people who have made a significant contribution to architecture but are not architects. This includes people who have helped improve the quality of design and influence the delivery of the built environment in a more sustainable way, those involved in its promotion and management, and those who nurture the interests of future generations.

Claire is a cultural producer with three decades of experience specialising in innovative collaboration and participation within architecture. In that time, she has been committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the built environment. She is a former Lead Officer for Architecture at Arts Council England, including developing and delivering National Architecture Week, a joint initiative with RIBA, which successfully extended public critical debate around contemporary architecture. She was also Head of Development of the Architecture Centre Network and a Senior Advisor at CABE for Sea Change, a culture-led regeneration programme.

In her role as Partnerships Lead at AHMM, Claire has transferred knowledge and experience from her work in national cultural organisations to deliver a high impact programme to a diverse range of communities. She co-chairs the practice’s Partnerships Group, which she set up in 2018 to bring together people from across the practice to direct resources, skills, fundraising and volunteering, and leads the development and delivery of AHMM’s partnerships work
with charities, cultural organisations and community initiatives. Collaborations she has developed and led include architectural workshops with Accumulate - The Art School for the Homeless; an exploration of RIBA HQ with young people from inclusive theatre Chickenshed; Migrateful Kitchen, a pro bono project for a charity delivering cookery classes led by refugees; and an annual Summer School for young people. Claire also leads on social value, and AHMM’s work on Tower Hamlets Town Hall was recently awarded a Thornton Education Trust Inspiring Future Generations Award for Social Value.

The 2024 Honorary Fellowships will be celebrated at the RIBA in June. Read more about them here.