Níall McLaughlin Receives 2026 Royal Gold Medal for Architecture

January 2026

Established in 1990, Níall McLaughlin Architects is a London-based practice designing buildings for education, culture, faith, care, and housing, all grounded in an approach that sees architecture as learning, craft, and ritual that endures through human engagement and collective use.

Acknowledging the award Níall said ‘Architecture is a patient and ethical act, one that unfolds through care for people, places, and institutions, over time. To receive the Royal Gold Medal from a jury so deeply engaged in education, culture, and civic life is an honour that affirms these values. It encourages us to continue working with the same attentiveness, restraint, and responsibility that have shaped our practice from the beginning.’

RIBA President and Chair of the 2026 RIBA Honours Jury, Chris Williamson, said: “Always one to credit and uplift those around him, it is fitting that Níall is recognised for the resounding impact he has had on the profession. As an educator, he has been an outstanding role model for young architects, while his designs - eclectic in appearance and use - share a sense of care and grace that represent the very best of architecture.

Such sustained success has in no way diminished his humility. A humble visionary, his dedication to architecture as an art and professional practice has left an enduring mark on the discipline – one that will undoubtedly transcend trends and time.”

The 2026 RIBA Honours Jury was chaired by RIBA President Chris Williamson and comprised of 2025 Royal Gold Medal recipient Kazuyo Sejima of SANAA, Anna Liu of Tonkin Liu, Isabel Allen, Editor, Architecture Today and Victoria Farrow, Architect and Subject Lead in Architecture and the Built Environment at Leicester School of Architecture, De Montfort University.

Cambridge Architecture Students Tour of Jesus College

March 2017

On Wednesday 1st March the University of Cambridge Year 2 architecture students visited our West Court development at Jesus College. They were invited by Professor of Sustainable Design Koen Steemers, a Fellow and Director of Studies at Jesus College. I gave a general introduction to the project in the recently completed auditorium and was asked to cover some more specific acoustic design issues to tie in with Professor Steemers’s recent lectures on acoustics.

It was great to experience the ash-lined auditorium space occupied. With the secondary glazing installed earlier in the week, there was no disturbance from noisy Jesus Lane outside and even the buzz of the busy building site beyond the four walls of the auditorium was not noticeable.

I really enjoyed the Q&A session and was surprised at the insightful questioning and level of engagement that the Year 2 students demonstrated. There were specific questions about acoustic design – Were different room shapes considered? – and more general questions about the architecture – What informed the architectural language of the Auditorium? How was the 100-year lifespan of the building considered in the selection of materials?

Having finished in the auditorium, we crossed the courtyard to the new café pavilion and ended the tour in the basement bar below. Here the acoustics are very different with glazed tiling to the walls and brass surfaces. It was interesting to discuss how the acoustic plaster soffits, the sprung floor and the ceiling vaults might affect the sound. Again probing questions were raised about design and sustainability but I got the sense there was another question on everyone’s mind – Shouldn’t every college bar have its own microbrewery?