2026 Royal Gold Medal to Níall McLaughlin
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has named Swiss-born Irish architect Níall McLaughlin the 2026 recipient of the Royal Gold Medal, which is given annually, on behalf of His Majesty the King, “to a person or group of people who have had a significant influence on the advancement of architecture.”
Níall McLaughlin is no stranger to prestigious RIBA Awards. Just four years ago his eponymous London firm won the RIBA Stirling Prize for The New Library, Magdalene College in Cambridge. The jury statement described that winning project as “sophisticated,” “generous,” and “calm,” qualities that seem to extend to the architect himself, at least based on today's announcement from RIBA. “Always one to credit and uplift those around him,” said Chris Williamson, RIBA president and chair of the jury, “it is fitting that Níall is recognized for the resounding impact he has had on the profession.”
“Modesty” is another term that RIBA applies to the architecture of Níall McLaughlin Architects (NMA), which the architect established in 1990. Modesty is evident in the simple brick volumes of the The New Library, Magdalene College (2021), but also the latticed timber oval of the Bishop Edward King Chapel in Oxford (2013), the “calm orthogonal pavilions” of the Alzheimer’s Respite Centre in Dublin (2011), and the cloud-like Bandstand at Bexhill (2001). Another NMA project singled out by RIBA in its announcement is Peabody Whitechapel (2014), the completion of a housing estate in London that was shortlisted for the 2015 Stirling Prize.
On top of NMA's projects, which have “a remarkable consistency, regardless of scale or budget, shaped by a deep sensitivity to place, material, craft, light and form,” per RIBA, McLaughlin is being recognized for his thinking, writing, and education. Educated at University College Dublin, McLaughlin is a professor of architectural practice at the Bartlett and has previously taught at UCLA and Yale University. He “views studying, practice and teaching as a vital continuum of learning and education.”
Níall McLaughlin will receive the Royal Gold Medal in a celebration at the Royal Geographical Society on April 30. Those unable to attend can watch the event streamed live.