Ian Ritchie will be President for the third year of the Compasso Volante competition jury in which Final Year Diploma students from Beijing, Seoul, Paris and Milan produce final thesis designs on a common site - this year in Marseilles. The jury will take place in Beijing in September.

Ian Ritchie will be chairing the jury for 2006 Stirling Prize in association with the Architects Journal.

Congratulations to Robin Cross who was elected as a Labour Councillor in the London Borough of Lewisham and now represents the socially mixed and culturally dynamic ward of Telegraph Hill.
He was elected with a mandate to promote urban regeneration, stronger environmental policy and a renewal of life in the community.

Ian Ritchie has invited Toni Ruttimann, known as Il Suizo, the young man who builds bridges, to lecture at the RIBA on 13th June at 6.30. He has built more than 300 bridges in disaster areas in S America and SE Asia. Tickets will be in short supply, so book early here.

In May 2005 the charity ARK Education invited Ian Ritchie Architects to design one of a network of seven inner city schools it is to sponsor under the Government’s Academies programme.
This month ARK Education received confirmation that its Westminster project can proceed.
The Academy is to provide education for 892 children and will occupy two sites in the Lisson Grove area in the City of Westminster. The Academy will operate an extended school policy and engage the local community.
Building work is expected to commence on the Cosway Street site in 3Q 2007 and on the Penfold Street site in 1Q 2008.

Ian Ritchie has accepted to act as the international juror in the assessment of a limited, two-stage architectural competition for an approximately 200,000m² development in Dublin.
The site is close to the city centre and will be developed as a high quality mixed-use scheme and it is the client’s intention to create a world class example of high quality, innovative high density residential, retail development and office development.

Ian Ritchie has accepted the invitation to be the External Examiner for the new M.Arch course at Oxford Brookes University. The course, which will start in September 2006, will be directed by the internationally acclaimed architectural teacher Prof. David Greene.
The one-year (12 month) course is conceived as a high-level design programme. It is a post-professional course that will appeal primarily to architects and designers from the UK and overseas who wish to develop their design skills to the highest levels by undertaking an intensive programme of study. Speculative research in design will be a key part of the course, with a particular emphasis on making and its role in design.
The new M.Arch is the first new architectural programme to be launched at Oxford Brookes since the appointment of Prof Mark Swenarton as head of architecture in September 2005.

Dublin City Council has confirmed that The Spire Trust will become active following the inaugural meeting scheduled for March 2006.
The Spire Trust funds from exploiting the economic marketing value of the Spire will be made available through grants to promote the arts, particularly among those who are marginalised from participating in them.

Ian Ritchie participated in a conference discussing the urban renewal of the city, and also lectured at the University.