Níall McLaughlin
Architects

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PROGRESS

MARCH 2017

Below are some from the Natural History Museum site showing the scaffold ‘tunnel’ going up at the Museum. This is the framework required to lift, manipulate, and move the blue whale skull into position in a few weeks.

Though the main hall has had a sperm whale in it before, this was only around 15m long. In contrast, the blue whale, the largest known animal to have ever existed, is about 30m long once assembled.

Unfortunately, due to the various extensions and alterations to the Museum over time, the skull can only come in via the front doors. And – much like a very large, very heavy, very valuable sofa – it’s a case of squeezing it in at strange angles.

STIRLING STORIES

SEPTEMBER 2015

On the 29^th of September Niall is taking part in a talk at the RIBA alongside Neil Gillespie at Reiach and Hall for Maggie’s Lanarkshire, Roisin Heneghan at Heneghan Peng for University of Greenwich, Graham Stirk at Rogers Stirk + Harbour for Neo Bankside, London, Paul Monaghan at AHMM for Burntwood School, Southwark and Stuart McKnight at MUMA for the Whitworth Gallery, University of Manchester to tell their stories behind their Stirling shortlisted projects. The event will be chaired by Deyan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum.