YALE ADVANCED STUDIO
MAY 2015
Niall completed teaching his Advanced Studio for the Spring Semester in the School of Architecture in Yale University. The students presented projects based upon the theme Unreal City. They looked at the impact of devolved powers on the development of London as a quasi-independent global city, almost without a hinterland. Niall taught with faculty member Andrew Benner.
The final review was attended by Billie Tsien, David Kohn, Jennifer Leung, Pier Vittorio Aurelli, Petia Morozov, Frida Escobedo, Alan Organschi, Mike Tonkin, Michael Schlabs, Tatiana Bilbao and Bob Stern.
ATHLETES OCCUPY OLYMPIC HOUSING
AUGUST 2012
In the run up to the London Olympics, the Athletes’ Village housing block N15, is now occupied with athletes’ preparing for the games. Niall McLaughlin Architects have designed the external skin of the housing block on a ‘chassis’ designed by Glen Howells. The facade samples fragments of the Elgin Marbles, scanned from the British Museum and converted into 3D pre-cast panels depicting galloping horses from the Parthenon Frieze.
Niall McLaughlin commented on the practice’s approach to the unusual commission in Building Design. ‘I was very interested in the principle of the facade being delaminated from the building’s core form. Usually it’s something one tries to swim against to retain a sense of ‘authenticity’, but here we decided to embrace it….I like the idea of setting Ruskin’s conception of the craftsman against the absolute Taylorism of the construction process. Through digital reproduction, these deracinated stones are now doubly lost.’ (Building Design 27.01.2012)