Ronald Diss attended the Architectural Association, London from 1953-55, where he received Diploma Honours. As part of his final year’s studies, he joined the first cohort of the newly formed AA Department of Tropical Architecture (DTA). Upon graduation he moved to Stockholm, where he worked with Swedish modernist, Sven Markelius (1879-1972), before returning to the UK and practising as Deputy Architect (education) for the London Borough of Waltham Forest until the late 1970s and then as Chief Architect until his early retirement in 1985. 

Sources: 

• Architectural Association Student Register 1945-1972, AA Archives
• Department of Tropical Architecture, student listing, Otto Koenigsberger Collection, Box OK27, AA Archives
• Architectural Association Diploma Roll, 1924-1963, AA Archives
• The Municipal Journal, Vol. 93, Part 2, 1985, p968
• The Architect’s Journal, Vol. 169, March, 1979, p4