The role of RIBA president is a Victorian-era relic that has lost its relevance and should be scrapped, writes Catherine Slessor.

One of the perks of being president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is that you get your name chiselled for posterity into the marble portals of its Portland Place headquarters.
Royal Gold Medal winners are also accorded this honour, so one portal features a "who's who" roll call of luminaries, such as Mies van der Rohe, Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid, while the other constitutes a rather less stellar "who's that"" parade of placemen. Lancelot Keay" Larry Rolland" Lionel Gordon Baliol Brett, 4th Viscount Esher"
It's hard to fathom what a president actually does And of course, they are, overwhelmingly, men; 174 years elapsed before Ruth Reed became the RIBA's first female president in 2009. But it's safe to say that the oeuvre and reputations of the vast majority, both then and now, would not figure on the radar of a Gold Medal jury.
Established in 1835, the office of RIBA president is certainly historic. But in the modern era, its lustre has palpably diminished, becoming synonymous with a struggle to attract credible candidates, embarrassingly sparse voter turnouts, low-level imbroglios and a general lack of purpose and direction. All in spite of some tub-thumping manifestos and the two-year presidency now being a remunerated position to the tune of up to £60,000 per annum.
Aside from sw...