British Indian to head nodal architectural body

Sunand Prasad is the new president of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

A noted British Indian architect, who hails from Dehradun, has been elected president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), becoming the first Asian to head the prestigious body.

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Sunand Prasad, who is currently RIBA's vice president of policy and strategy, will take over his new assignment in September.

Born in 1950 in Dehradun, Prasad spent most of the first 12 years of his life in Mahatma Gandhi's ashram in Sevagram. His family migrated to England in 1962 and he did his schooling from north London.

Later, he studied architecture at the University of Cambridge and the Architectural Association schools of architecture.

RIBA, originally named the Institute of British Architects in London, was formed in 1834 by several prominent architects. It has 30,000 members.

Through most of his career Prasad has been involved in architectural teaching and served as external examiner on a number of courses.

Currently, he is a member of the Cambridge University School of Architecture Advisory Committee.