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The average age of a RIBA member is 52. Ruth Reed, the body鈥檚 incoming president, who turned 52 this year, puts her hands to her mouth and laughs when she hears this. 鈥淭hat was a set-up, wasn鈥檛 it?鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 okay because I鈥檓 not your average member of the RIBA.鈥�

She鈥檚 not wrong there. First and foremost, being female means she is the same sex as 15% of her profession. And there can鈥檛 be many architects who have worked for a local authority, a housebuilder, a large practice and as a sole practitioner. If all of this weren鈥檛 enough, last September Reed entered a class of one when she was elected the RIBA鈥檚 first female president.

Since then she has been quietly preparing for her two-year term, thinking about the areas she wants to focus on when she takes over from Sunand Prasad in September. After months of keeping her plans for the job more or less under wraps, she is now ready to talk about what the architectural world can expect from its first helmswoman. 鈥淭here鈥檚 12 months of sitting quietly in the back room, because it鈥檚 not appropriate for the president-elect to speak up,鈥� she says. 鈥淲ell, I鈥檓 looking forward to being able to speak up now.鈥�

Outside RIBA council circles, Reed is something of an unknown quantity. And she has a lot to prove as she prepares to sacrifice her relative anonymity for the role of president: 鈥淧olitically, she鈥檚 very experienced but she鈥檚 not so hot on design or culture or young stuff,鈥� says one council member who wished to remain unnamed. 鈥淭he impression is of a homespun architect who hails from the provinces. It鈥檒l be interesting to see how she fares in the bright lights of London.鈥�

In fact, Reed was elected on a platform of giving a greater voice to the regions, with an emphasis on reforming planning and architects鈥� fees, but she says the downturn will be the first thing to tackle when she becomes president. 鈥淚n a recession, the RIBA needs to be very clear about what it鈥檚 doing for the membership,鈥� she says. This includes initiatives such as the 鈥渞ecession survival toolkit鈥� (a pack giving advice to members, accompanied by a series of seminars across the country) and lobbying the government on public sector spending.

She adds that of all the issues facing architects in the recession, the worst is that they are expected to work for a ridiculously low fee in order to maintain turnover and relationships with clients. 鈥淚t鈥檚 horrifying, and the worst of it is it takes so long to change,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e were underselling ourselves for a long time after the nineties.鈥�

What else can the RIBA do to help architects? Reed says providing information and resources is the main thing to focus on. But what about leadership? 鈥淥f course. There needs to be a high level of advocacy at government level,鈥� she says, adding that she is ready for the challenge. 鈥淚 know a bit about politics, and how ministers work. It鈥檚 all about personal contact. I feel confident at that level.鈥�

A lot of architects say there isn鈥檛 enough long-term leadership coming from the RIBA itself. The president鈥檚 term is only two years. Is it up to the executive to provide a clearer, long-term message for architecture? 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think so,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think what the profession wants from us is a clear agenda on quality, and the ways to achieve that. I don鈥檛 think people expect the RIBA to do anything else.鈥�

Only the first stage

When it comes to her clear agenda, Reed accepts that some of her manifesto pledges have been scuppered by the recession. But she is confident that her two-year term will give her plenty of time to achieve her main ambitions. 鈥淚t sounds like a negative thing to be looking to do 鈥� to cope rather than to achieve 鈥� but that鈥檚 only the first stage,鈥� she says. One of her first priorities in September will be to do a tour of the regions to canvass the membership on the recession, and ask what they want her to do as president. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want just to go through the committee structures, important as they are, but to visit schools and small practices in places like north-west England and Hull,鈥� she says.

鈥淚 know this sounds like politician-speak, but there is an enormous value in listening to people. How can you give people a voice if you鈥檙e not listening?鈥�

An important part of the Reed presidency will be building a solid relationship between architectural schools and the RIBA. Her plan is to create a network of schools, not only to improve the RIBA鈥檚 educational services for younger architects, but also to engage architects with their institute from the beginning of their careers.

When a woman steps into any role for the first time they have a lot to prove. I don鈥檛 think there will be any exception here

She worries that the London-centric nature of the RIBA risks provoking a 鈥渄isenchantment鈥� between architects and their professional body. 鈥淭here is a lack of feeling of ownership of the institute,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he members are the RIBA, and that is its strength. That鈥檚 got lost in translation somewhere.鈥�

One thing the body certainly hasn鈥檛 lost in recent weeks is a public presence. As 好色先生TV went to press, the debate over the design of the Chelsea Barracks scheme was at boiling point, complete with fevered media rumours that the steel and glass design by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners was about to be dropped. The controversy began in April when Prince Charles intervened to back a traditional alternative by Quinlan Terry. Reed鈥檚 position on this is clear. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 approve of attempts to influence what should be a democratic process,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 become a rallying point for the opponents of that scheme and I think that鈥檚 wrong. There should be a level playing field, but nobody鈥檚 going to be happy with this one. It鈥檚 gone too far on both sides.鈥�

Reed herself is unwilling to be drawn into the 鈥渟tyle war鈥� argument. 鈥淚鈥檓 about to be president of a very broad church, and our members design across the spectrum. It鈥檚 about excellence of design, not what the wrapping paper looks like.鈥�

Gentlemen鈥檚 club?

Irena Bauman, a Cabe commissioner, recently wrote a scabrous column in an architectural magazine describing the RIBA as a 鈥済entlemen鈥檚 club鈥�. Reed is dismissive of Bauman鈥檚 piece, describing it as 鈥渁 rather hackneyed and prejudiced vision of the RIBA, playing on a few emotive stereotypes鈥�. But doesn鈥檛 the description of the body as a wood-panelled club populated by elderly men not ring any bells?

鈥淣ot really,鈥� she says, bluntly, showing a flash of impatience behind the polite smile. 鈥淟ook, the real concern is the number of talented young women who are choosing to leave the profession. If you look at our make-up, then of course there is going to be a high percentage of men. At many branch meetings I鈥檝e been the only woman in the room. But I enjoy changing people鈥檚 views of the RIBA. I wouldn鈥檛 be here otherwise.鈥�

Reed would like to be seen as a role model for young female architects, something else she aims to achieve through her work as president. But she admits that life as a female architect has not always been easy: 鈥淚 had a private practice to facilitate childcare, and I was the primary parent in terms of childcare, so it has affected my career. But that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 important to say how adaptable the profession is. As a woman, you can make architecture work for you.鈥�

Reed may not buy in to the gentlemen鈥檚 club theory but she does concede that she expects to have to work harder to be taken seriously because of her gender. 鈥淲hen a woman steps into any role for the first time they have a lot to prove,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there will be any exception here.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to be robust. At first if women didn鈥檛 go along with sexism, they were accused of not having a sense of humour. Now, the person being sexist is the one exposing themselves to ridicule. That鈥檚 how far we鈥檝e come.鈥�

Team player

Reed is clear about the sort of president she wants to be. She says she is happy with the public attention 鈥� 鈥淲hy would you stand for the president of the RIBA if you didn鈥檛 want to be the public face of the institute?鈥� 鈥� but reveals she will take a different approach to past presidents. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want you to read into this any criticism of the previous president, because I have the utmost respect for Sunand and what he has done, but I think I鈥檓 more of a team player,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want the only face of the RIBA to be Ruth Reed. I don鈥檛 think that would say the right thing about me, and I don鈥檛 think it would say the right thing about the institute.

鈥淲hatever happens during my presidency, they certainly won鈥檛 forget me.鈥�