Architecture and Poetry

May 2023

The exhibition Architecture and Poetry is on display at Hay Castle from May 26th - 3rd September. The exhibition begins on the Castle exterior with a newly commissioned light poem from poet-sculptor Robert Montgomery and culminates in Pelé Cox’s verse inscription for Eric Parry’s Building 7 at Chelsea Barracks as well as the words of bilingual poet Gwyneth Lewis for the Wales Millennium Centre at Cardiff. Alongside this, the exhibition details three architectural designs by our practice which were inspired by poems, including the International Rugby Experience at Limerick which has its origins in the poem Beowulf. These architectural exhibits are complemented by a collection of concrete poetry from the 1960s to the present including The Mouse’s Tale by Lewis Carrol. To visit the Hay Castle website click here.

Níall will be giving a lecture at Hay Castle on the 30th May talking about the links between poems and some of our projects. Please click here to find out further details.

Michael Webb Writes a Feature on Niall McLaughlin in Mark Magazine

October 2013

Under the title ‘London Maverick’ Mark Magazine has profiled Niall McLaughlin and a wide ranging showcase of the practice’s work. The article includes projects from the Bandstand at Bexhill-on-Sea in 2001 to the Chapel for Ripon Theological College completed last year, the latter being described as a project that “restores one’s faith in the capacity of architects to reinvent traditional forms.”

The work of the practice is described as defying categorisation and characterised by “poetry and invention”. Drawing on the broad theme of materiality, the review reflects on the design process for a selection of projects including House at Goleen, the student accommodation for Somerville College, the Information Centre in Hull and the Housing for the London Olympics.