NMLA Announced as Winners for The Museum of Jesus’ Baptism Competition

February 2026

We are delighted that our practice has been announced as the winner of the Malcolm Reading Consultants international competition The Museum of Jesus’ Baptism at Bethany, Jordan.

Our winning concept impressed the Foundation and the Advisory Panel with “its flair for multi-layered and immersive storytelling that focuses on communicating baptism’s power to offer spiritual renewal and new life.” In scale and form, the proposal answered the brief’s call for a museum that ‘evokes wonder and humility in the visitor and responds sensitively to the site’.

Dr Tharwat Almasalha, Chair of the competition’s Advisory Panel and Chair of the Foundation’s Board, said:

‘We congratulate Níall McLaughlin’s team on their proposal which excels in telling the story of baptism – highlighting its power to offer spiritual renewal and new life.

‘We look forward to celebrating the bimillennial of Christ’s baptism in 2030 with the opening of the new museum which promises to be an inspiration for Jordan, faith communities, and secular visitors worldwide.

‘This proposal responds sensitively to the luminous setting in the wilderness and the adjacent UNESCO site. Though modest in size and form, the design has exceptional resonance: it will be attuned to human and divine connections.

‘Together with the NMLA-led team we’re determined to create a museum that will be a global exemplar and acclaimed as a universal symbol of peace.’

The team commented “We are delighted to receive the news that we are the winners of the competition for the Museum of Jesus’ Baptism at Bethany, Jordan. It is an extraordinary site with a profound history. The brief was beautifully written, and the shortlist was exceptionally strong. We felt honored to be chosen to participate with such an interesting group.

‘The challenge of the design was to find a way to allow the architecture to mediate between a charged landscape and the sacred narratives that arose within it. It demanded a building that could work with allegory. At the same time, the project needed to use local labor, skills, and resources to achieve something with a sense of social responsibility and low carbon expenditure. We now look forward to working with the Foundation to develop the design in dialogue with enthusiastic local and international experts. We relish the opportunity to learn more about this beautiful country.’

Our team is supported by Engicon (Local Consultant); Kim Wilkie Landscape (Landscape Architecture); Nissen Richards Studio (Exhibition Design & Wayfinding); Studio ZNA (Lighting Design); and Arup (Daylight & Shadow Studies).

Two RIBA National Award Wins

July 2024

The WongAvery Music Gallery for Trinity Hall in Cambridge and Auckland Castle, Tower & Faith Museum have both won RIBA National Awards.

The Auckland Project was founded by philanthropist Jonathan Ruffer. The project is one of a series of urban and historic interventions that seek to preserve the Castle’s heritage, promote Bishop Auckland as a visitor destination and reinvigorate the town. The Castle project by Purcell Architects involved the conservation of the state apartments and domestic rooms, and the provision of new learning, catering, retail and visitor facilities. It sought to increase visitor engagement and bring to life the forgotten story of the Prince Bishops and their role in the nation’s past. In its pivotal location, the form and construction of the Auckland Tower is intended to echo lightweight provisional structures that would once have clustered around Castle walls. It allows people a view into the Castle to understand this previously secluded world. The new Faith Museum extension to the Castle takes the simple form of a barn with certain details developed to project a public representation of a sacred function and provides space for exhibition displays on faith in Britain. The Auckland project has previously been awarded an RIBA North East Building of the Year and North East Conservation Award.

The WongAvery Gallery is a music practice and performance space for Trinity Hall, Cambridge. The new building sits in the centre of Avery Court. The aim of this project was not only to provide a much-needed dedicated space for music practice and performance, but also to rejuvenate Avery Court by relandscaping the court around the new building in a collaboration with Kim Wilkie. It also houses environmentally sensitive musical instruments and the college’s music library. the Jury commented on the project “The jury left the pavilion having absorbed a sense of calm unusual in any building. This is an admirable project in the way it has set out exceptional architectural ambitions and succeeded in seeing them through both design and construction with outstanding rigour and attention to detail.”