{"id":258085,"date":"2026-01-29T19:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T19:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/258085\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T19:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T19:04:13","slug":"ten-deliberately-modest-projects-by-niall-mclaughlin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/258085\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten “deliberately modest” projects by Niall McLaughlin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following Niall McLaughlin<\/a> being named as the recipient of this year’s RIBA Royal Gold Medal<\/a>, we look at 10 key buildings by the Irish architect.<\/p>\n

Described by RIBA as “marked by a deliberate modesty”, the buildings created by McLaughlin’s eponymous studio vary widely in scale, function, material and aesthetic.<\/p>\n

They include four buildings that were shortlisted for the Stirling Prize \u2013 Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre<\/a> in 2018, Darbishire Place<\/a> in 2015, Bishop Edward King Chapel<\/a> in 2013, and The New Library at Magdalene College<\/a>, which was the winner in 2022.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Dezeen<\/a>, McLaughlin said that a focus on creating meaningful architecture united all of his projects.<\/p>\n

“I think people want buildings to be meaningful,” he told Dezeen. “Okay, I know that sounds almost trite, but it’s true that people want to feel that a building is something that helps them to communicate meaning to each other.”<\/p>\n

Read on for 10 of McLaughlin’s most significant projects:<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Photo is by Nick Kane<\/p>\n

The New Library at Magdalene College, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

Built for the University of Cambridge, The New Library at Magdalene College is a brick<\/a> and timber structure that references historic architecture at the campus. The project, which has won the 2022 Stirling Prize<\/a>, was the result of a 2014 competition to create new facilities alongside the Grade I-listed Pepys Library.<\/p>\n

The building is organised on a tartan grid and includes a triple-height entrance hall and double-height reading rooms. The interior is filled with a mix of cross-laminated timber and red brick, topped with gabled roof<\/a> forms and skylights.<\/p>\n

\"Auckland<\/a>Photo is by Nick Kane<\/p>\n

Auckland Tower, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n

This larch tower functions as an entrance for Auckland Castle and a\u00a0viewpoint<\/a> for the town of Bishop Aukland. The studio’s design is informed by an illustration in a book about medieval fortifications and is intended to mimic a siege engine.<\/p>\n

It was built entirely from glued-laminated timber<\/a>, which Niall McLaughlin Architects chose for its durable qualities, cost and visual ties to wooden medieval structures. Golden balconies and balustrades line the tower and contrast against the grey hue of the timber, while an interior ticket hall features text-engraved walls and ornate panelled ceilings.<\/p>\n

\"Hampshire<\/a>Photo is by Nick Kane<\/p>\n

Hampshire House, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Located in a river valley in Hampshire<\/a>, this country home comprises a number of concrete<\/a> volumes set against a flint-clad “inhabitable wall”. The home is organised across a subtly sloping site that allows for each of its interior spaces to overlook the surrounding landscape.<\/p>\n

The home’s monolithic exterior is contrasted by its French oak-lined interior walls that frame full-height windows. Interior spaces were kept comparatively small allowing for sections of the home to be closed and cornered off when not in use by the resident’s extended family.<\/p>\n

\"Sultan<\/a>Photo is by Nick Kane<\/p>\n

Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n

Stone<\/a> fins and clerestory windows characterise Niall McLaughlin Architects’ Nazrin Shah Centre, which was designed for Worcester College at the University of Oxford.<\/p>\n

Housing a lecture theatre, student learning areas, seminar spaces and a dance studio, the structure sits on the college’s heritage-listed campus and features an interior with timber beams and columns. In 2018, the project was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Jesus<\/a>Photo is by Nick Kane<\/p>\n

Jesus College, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n

Elsewhere at the University of Cambridge, Niall McLaughlin Architects refurbished a 1970s building at Jesus College. The project was the result of the same competition that led it to create The New Library at Magdalene College.<\/p>\n

As part of the renovation<\/a>, the studio restored the building’s existing library and dining area and extended it with offices, social spaces, student accommodation, a cafe and a student bar. The interior was stripped back to reveal its brick<\/a> and timber bones, while the exterior of the building was recladded in timber and stone.<\/p>\n

\"St<\/a><\/p>\n

St Teresa’s Church and Priory, 2016<\/a><\/p>\n

At St Teresa’s Church and Priory, a heritage-protected church<\/a> in Dublin, Niall McLaughlin Architects was tasked with improving and refurbishing<\/a> a prayer room and priory on the second floor.<\/p>\n

Due to the nature of the building’s protected status, any new additions to the space needed to preserve and be in keeping with the existing structure, leading the studio to develop a design that slots within the original walls. Ash<\/a> framework with integrated seating and screens sits within the original space, alongside a bespoke wooden altar, a tabernacle, a presider’s chair and a pulpit.<\/p>\n

\"Fishing<\/a>Photo is by Nick Kane<\/p>\n

Fishing Hut, 2015<\/a><\/p>\n

Located on a lake in Hampshire, the Fishing Hut is a small cabin<\/a> that provides a place to store boats<\/a> and fishing tackle but also functions as a meeting point and shelter for anglers.<\/p>\n

The structure has a steel<\/a> frame, built on top of a concrete foundation that is cast on the lakebed. Oak lines the interior of the cabin, while oak shutters<\/a> clad the exterior and allow it to be opened up to the outside. It is topped with an aluminium roof that overhangs wooden decks at either end.<\/p>\n

\"Duncan<\/a>Photo is by Nick Kane<\/p>\n

Duncan Terrace house, 2014<\/a><\/p>\n

In a 15-year-long project, Niall McLaughlin Architects restored and extended a Grade II-listed Georgian home in London to better frame its resident’s art<\/a> and sculpture collection.<\/p>\n

As part of the project, the studio added a subterranean gallery at the rear of the garden. The gallery is connected to the home by a passage concealed by a double-height screen, which is constructed from blocks of cast plaster set against panels of translucent glass<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Bishop<\/a>Photo is by Niall McLaughlin Architects<\/p>\n

Bishop Edward King Chapel, 2013<\/a><\/p>\n

Bishop Edward King Chapel is an elliptical-shaped structure at the Ripon Theological College in Oxford<\/a> that was created to replace a smaller chapel on the campus. It has a Clipsham-stone facade that is arranged in a dog-tooth bond formation and has\u00a0similar characteristics to the surrounding limestone<\/a> buildings.<\/p>\n

Inside, the chapel features tree-like timber columns that are organised around its perimeter. The timber structure was constructed using prefabricated spruce<\/a> sections, which come together to form a lattice canopy overhead.<\/p>\n

\"House<\/a>Photo is by Nick Guttridge<\/p>\n

House at Goleen, 2009<\/a><\/p>\n

Irish blue limestone clads House at Goleen, a rural cottage<\/a> on the south coast of Ireland<\/a> for which Niall McLaughlin Architects designed four monolithic extensions. The studio mirrored the sloping roof profile of the existing cottage with a series of staggered gables that taper into the landscape.<\/p>\n

The original structure has a white painted finish that distinguishes it from the new grey limestone-clad additions. Courtyards surround and bridge the spaces between each of the volumes.<\/p>\n

A version of this piece was originally published in 2022 to mark the New Library at Magdalene College winning the Stirling Prize.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following Niall McLaughlin being named as the recipient of this year’s RIBA Royal Gold Medal, we look at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,148298,69,25887,7478,1621,1774],"class_list":{"0":"post-258085","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-niall-mclaughlin-architects","17":"tag-nz","18":"tag-riba","19":"tag-roundups","20":"tag-sectionall","21":"tag-sectionarchitecture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}