THE WELCOME BUILDING
SEPTEMBER 2017
The Welcome Building in Bishop Auckland consists of a new viewing tower and central ticketing hall for the The Auckland Project. It acts as an access point and gateway to the wider site whilst also giving views over the town and landscape setting. The tower – a timber framed structure – is now well under way on site.
The building team has worked tirelessly and with the highest level of precision, to build the in-situ concrete lift shaft. Working from the ground up seemed to take an age.
Meanwhile, the enormous larch glulam beams have been carefully crafted and manually grey-oiled in the joiner’s workshop.
The frames are now being lifted into position on site and suddenly the building can be seen. Almost in an instant. As if the past four years had happened in the blink of an eye.
We are so excited and proud – even – to see this fantasy project becoming real at last. But with completion on the horizon, time seems to now move all too fast.
RIBA STIRLING PRIZE SHORTLIST NOMINATION
JULY 2013
Niall McLaughlin Architects are delighted that the Bishop Edward King Chapel has been shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize for the best building, considered to be the most prestigious award for architectural excellence. The RIBA describe the shortlisted buildings as revealing, “the pinnacle of current architectural talent.”
The Chapel is one of the six on the shortlist which includes projects by Alison Brooks Architects, Hawkins\Brown, Witherford Watson Mann Architects, Heneghan Peng and Grafton Architects. The announcement has received widespread media coverage in shortlist that has been reported as “refreshing for its wave of new names.”
This year’s judging panel are Sheila O’Donnell (O’Donnell and Tuomey Architects), Paul Williams (Stanton Williams), Stephen Hodder (RIBA President Elect), Dame Vivien Duffield (philanthropist) and Tom Dykchoff (journalist). A short video of Niall McLaughlin talking with the judges about the Chapel building is featured below.
Link to Bishop Edward King Chapel Video