RIBA has announced that Hugh Pearman, editor of architecture magazine The RIBA Journal, will be stepping down from the role in December 2020 after 14 years.
Pearman joined the journal, which is published by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), in 2006.
January 2021 to be Pearman's last issue
He is one of The RIBA Journal's longest-serving editors and oversaw 170 issues of the magazine, with the January 2021 issue set to be his last as editor.
Under Pearman's editorship, the magazine went digital-first, publishing more articles online than in print. Annual page views of its website are set to surpass the million mark in 2020.
As the editor, he also launched RIBA Journal's social media channels and oversaw the 2013 redesign of the print magazine.
"Editing The RIBA Journal means nurturing something valuable," Pearman said.
"It had flourished in the hands of my predecessors including RIBA librarian Bobby Carter in the 1930s and 40s, social activist Malcolm MacEwen in the 1960s, Monica Pidgeon and Peter Murray in the 1970s and 80s, through to Amanda Baillieu, just prior to my stint."
"I've been honoured to be in charge of the journal for 11 per cent of its lifespan since 1893, and fortunate to work with a very talented and stable editorial team.”
Eleanor Young named acting editor
Pearman is now going freelance and will continue to write for The RIBA Journal as a contributor.
He was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for Services to Architecture in 2019 and is an Honorary Fellow of the RIBA since 2001.
He was also the architecture and design critic at The Sunday Times, a role he held for 30 years from 1986 to 2016.
Executive editor Eleanor Young will take over as acting editor of The RIBA Journal, with Jan-Carlos Kucharek becoming acting deputy editor and Isabelle Priest acting managing editor.
Earlier this year, RIBA elected Simon Allford to be its new president to replace current president Alan Jones, who temporarily stepped down from the role, from 1 September 2021.
RIBA is currently advertising for a contributing editor for RIBA Journal on Dezeen Jobs.
Portrait of Hugh Pearman courtesy of The RIBA Journal.