Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland

The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) is the professional body for architects in Scotland.

Previously the (lapsed) Architectural Institute of Scotland, it was re-founded in 1916 as the Incorporation of Architects in Scotland by architect Robert Rowand Anderson (1834–1921) from his sick bed. Anderson donated his Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh to be used as its home, where the organisation remains to this day. It was given its first Royal charter in 1922, followed by a second in 1929.

The RIAS comprises six chapters across Scotland:-

Associate membership is available to anyone registered as an architect who lives and works in Scotland.

The Incorporation is an independent body representing Architects working in Scotland although it consults regularly with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) regarding UK-wide professional issues. It lobbies Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Government directly on relevant issues.

The President is Willie Watt and the Treasurer and Secretary is Neil Baxter. The Incorporation is run by an elected National Council comprising representatives of individual Chapters and nationally elected members.

The Incorporation offers accreditation in specialist fields including historic building conservation and environmental sustainability.

The RIAS award was founded in 2002 by the architect Andrew Doolan, whose work included the Point Hotel in Edinburgh. The award is given to the best new building in Scotland, as judged by a jury of assessors. The value of the prize is £25,000, making it the largest prize for architecture in the UK. Initially the prize money came from Doolan, but following his death in 2004 there were doubts as to whether the award could continue. The responsibility now lies with his mother Mrs Margaret Doolan who now patronises the award and from 2005 the award has been renamed the "RIAS Andrew Doolan Award for Architecture" in his memory. Winners have included: the Enric Miralles' Scottish Parliament building; Bennetts Associates' University of Edinburgh Informatics Forum; and Reiach & Hall's Pier Arts Centre in Orkney. The Maggie's Centres in Dundee, Kirkcaldy and Inverness have all been nominated, with the one in Inverness by Page\Park Architects winning the award in 2006.

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