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RIBA pays $190,000 for Architecture.com

Design qualities of a 60s tower block

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has coughed up $190,000 (£120,000) to buy the domain name architecture.com. The deal was struck with GreatDomains.com after the name was auctioned earlier this month. Alex Reid, general director of RIBA, said: "More companies are paying the high price tag for a simple dot com domain name because of the immediate recognition and value it brings in establishing an online brand. "That's why we wanted a strong domain name like Architecture.com, whose installed awareness will greatly reduce the need for inflated marketing spending and substantially increase traffic to our site," he said. What a load of guff. The reason this purchase "will greatly reduce the need for inflated marketing spending" is probably because RIBA can't afford to anything else having splashed out all that cash to own the domain. This, of course, was denied by a RIBA spokesbunny, who said the acquisition would not leave the bricks and mortar institution penniless. The acquisition would be funded by advertising on the site, she said. Well, if that's the case, why does Architecture.com have all the design qualities of a 60s tower block? For an organisation so focused on design, its site is shocking. There's a solitary picture of the bathroom basin on the site at the moment, but that will change. Can't wait for the picture of a toilet. ®

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