The CIB Constitution defines the category of Honorary Membership as follows:
“Honorary Members are natural persons who are appointed as honorary member by the Board by virtue of the special contribution they have made to CIB over the years in promoting international building research in the widest sense of the word.”
As of October 2026 the list of distinguished individuals to have received this accolade is as follows (in alphabetical order):
| Honorary member | Organisation | Country | CIB contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philip Arctander | Danish Building Research Institute | Denmark | President of CIB |
| Peter S. Barrett | University of Salford | UK | Commission and Theme Coordinator; President of CIB |
| Gerard Blachère | Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment (CSTB) | France | President of CIB |
| Vladimír Červenka | Research Institute for Building and Architecture (VÚVA) | Czechia | Vice-President of CIB |
| John R. Duncan | Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) | New Zealand | President of CIB |
| Jan van Ettinger | Bouwcentrum | Netherlands | President of CIB |
| J. de Geus | CIB | Netherlands | Secretary-General of CIB |
| Lars Magnus Giertz | Not recorded | Sweden | Vice-President of CIB |
| Åge Hallquist | Norwegian Building Research Institute | Norway | Board member of CIB |
| Sir Frederick Measham Lea | Building Research Establishment (BRE) | UK | President of CIB |
| Robert Ferguson Legget | Institute for Research in Construction (IRC) | Canada | President of CIB |
| Bohdan Lewicki | Not recorded | Poland | Commission Coordinator |
| André Marini | Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment (CSTB) | France | Founding President of CIB |
| John V. McCarthy AO | Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc)/Queensland University of Technology | Australia | President of CIB |
| Rodney Milford | Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) | South Africa | President of CIB |
| Dinesh Mohan | Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) | India | Vice-President of CIB |
| Henri Motteu | Belgian Building Research Institute | Belgium | Treasurer of CIB; Commission Coordinator |
| Vasily J. Ovsyankin | Not recorded | (former) USSR | Vice-President of CIB |
| Gyula Sebestyén | Building Research Institute, Hungary (ÉTI) | Hungary | President of CIB; Secretary General of CIB |
| Louis Richard Shaffer | Department of the Army | USA | Commission Coordinator |
| Phillip H. Thomas | Fire Research Station | UK | Commission Coordinator |
| Karel de Vries | Bouwcentrum | Netherlands | Treasurer of CIB; Commission Coordinator |
| Jelle Witteveen | TNO | Netherlands | President of CIB |