{"id":530303,"date":"2026-04-14T12:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T12:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/530303\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T12:57:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T12:57:10","slug":"niall-mclaughlin-set-to-design-new-sydney-cathedral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/530303\/","title":{"rendered":"Niall McLaughlin set to design new Sydney cathedral"},"content":{"rendered":"

London studio Niall McLaughlin Architects<\/a> has unveiled its initial design for a cathedral in Sydney<\/a>, Australia, which will form part of the country’s first new cathedral precinct in over 100 years.<\/p>\n

Set to be built in Sydney’s Waitara suburb, the building forms part of a wider project to transform a 7.7-hectare site into a spiritual centre for the Diocese of Broken Bay.<\/p>\n

\"NiallThe cathedral will feature timber framing and sandstone structures<\/p>\n

According to the diocese, the building will be the first Roman Catholic cathedral precinct to be “masterplanned from its inception” in Australia for over a century.<\/p>\n

It will be designed by N\u00edall McLaughlin Architects<\/a>, which is led by N\u00edall McLaughlin, who was recently named the winner of the RIBA Royal Gold Medal<\/a>. The design will be developed in collaboration with Australian studio Hayball<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We are delighted to work on this significant project to help create an enduring spiritual, civic, and cultural precinct that places the faithful at its centre,” said McLaughlin.<\/p>\n

Cathedral informed by the Hawkesbury River<\/p>\n

The design will be informed by the Hawkesbury River that connects the diocese’s 26 parishes with timber framing and sandstone<\/a> facades referencing forests, bluffs and caves that surround the river.<\/p>\n

It will connect to the nearby St Leo’s Catholic College<\/a>, with the aim of developing a “virtuous circle” of Catholic life, from baptism through to early learning, primary, and secondary education.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

Ten “deliberately modest” projects by Royal Gold Medal-winner Niall McLaughlin\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Surrounding the cathedral will be several other buildings that will contain residences for the bishop and clergy and offices for the diocese.<\/p>\n

Housing and a series of public amenities will also be built as part of the project, including a cafe<\/a>, bookshop<\/a> and publicly accessible roof gardens, along with a pastoral centre and parish hall.<\/p>\n

Appointment “signals we are moving ahead with confidence”<\/p>\n

According to the diocese, the appointment of McLaughlin marks the ambition of the project.<\/p>\n

“The cathedral precinct is a home for faith, a place for community, and a commitment to the faithful of today and for future generations,” said Archbishop Randazzo, apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Broken Bay.<\/p>\n

“The appointment of N\u00edall McLaughlin Architects signals we are moving ahead with confidence to create a community legacy for generations to come,” he continued.<\/p>\n

McLaughlin, the London-based Irish architect, is widely known for his focus on craft and restrained materials, with diverse portfolio spanning buildings for education, cultural landmarks and housing.<\/p>\n

His notable works include the Bishop Edward King Chapel in Oxford<\/a>, built in 2013, and the New Library, Magdalene College, for the University of Cambridge<\/a>, which won the 2022 Stirling Prize<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"London studio Niall McLaughlin Architects has unveiled its initial design for a cathedral in Sydney, Australia, which will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530304,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,428,47789,1120,96,99310,40339,40340,40341,1288,56,54,55,71920],"class_list":{"0":"post-530303","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-australia","12":"tag-churches","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-niall-mclaughlin-architects","16":"tag-sectionall","17":"tag-sectionarchitecture","18":"tag-sectionnews","19":"tag-sydney","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-unitedkingdom","23":"tag-worship"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}