President's Message

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Dear Members, 

 

I am honoured to serve as President of the Barbados Institute of Architects at a time when the world seems determined to test our problem-solving skills well beyond the drawing board.

 

As we head into 2026, forecasts are filled with talk of global uncertainty, economic headwinds, and shifting priorities. Fortunately, architects are remarkably comfortable with complex briefs. We work daily with tight constraints, competing demands, and evolving conditions, and we’ve learned that good design rarely comes from perfect circumstances. It comes from clarity, creativity, and collaboration.

 

The focus of the 2025–2026 BIA Council is both practical and purposeful. We are strengthening the Institute from within, enhancing the value of membership, and expanding the BIA’s public presence and voice. In short, we’re tightening up the organisation, modernising how we operate, and ensuring that being a BIA member genuinely supports professional practice at every stage.

 

Over the coming year, members will see upgraded committees, stronger CPD programming, expanded academic partnerships, and continued improvements to our digital services, including a revamped Members’ Portal. These initiatives are designed to make engagement easier, communication clearer, and professional development more accessible. We also intend to listen carefully. Early in the year, Council will host a membership consultation to share our 2026 roadmap and gather feedback before finalising our direction, because no good plan survives without input from the people it serves.

 

Beyond our internal work, the BIA will continue to step more confidently into the public realm. Through improved public relations, advocacy, and media engagement, we aim to better articulate the value of architecture, not only as a professional service, but as a cultural, economic, and environmental force. Architecture shapes how we live, work, and move through the world, and that story deserves to be told clearly and consistently.

 

In 2026, we will also introduce new ways of recognising excellence within our own ranks, including the BIA Excellence Award, created to celebrate outstanding current members who are actively shaping the Institute and the profession today. Recognition, like good design, is most meaningful when it reflects real contribution and shared values.

 

I remain optimistic about the year ahead. With a committed Council, an engaged membership, and a profession that knows how to adapt when conditions change, the BIA is well positioned to navigate whatever 2026 brings. Together, we will continue to strengthen our Institute, support one another, and advance architecture in Barbados and the wider Caribbean, ideally with projects that stay within scope and budget.

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Regards,

Kerry Dragon

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President

Barbados Institute of Architects

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