Niall McLaughlin of Niall McLaughlin Architects
Embracing contemporary and historic elements
Sponsored by Vitro Architectural Glass | Presented by Niall McLaughlin
Niall McLaughlin discusses several of his firm’s projects, including the Bishop Edward King Chapel and the Auckland Castle Faith Museum. He often designs buildings for faith-based institutions on sites with deeply established history and context. He describes how his process of capturing light and creating counterpoints for the light is central to his designs. And he explains what it means to create a “prayerful” space that embraces contemporary and historic elements, and that is built in a way that captures the pleasure of its construction.
Photo courtesy of Niall McLaughlin Architects
Auckland Castle in County Durham
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Aaron Prinz is the host of the Design:ED Podcast and holds a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He was born and raised in the rural Northern California town of Red Bluff, just two hours south of the Oregon border. After one year of college, Prinz relocated to San Francisco to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. At age 26, he began studying architecture at Portland State University while interning at Studio Petretti Architecture led by Amanda Petretti. His professional contributions while at Studio Petretti were focused on a portion of the new Multnomah County Courthouse which is a prominent addition to the Portland skyline. He currently resides in Austin, Texas with his wife Roxanne where he continues to work as a designer. |
Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG Glass), North America’s largest glass producer, is dedicated to glass innovation and fueled by the same people, plants and products that made PPG Glass one of the industry’s most respected and reliable commercial glass manufacturers.
Originally published in Architectural Record
Originally published in November 2023
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- List some examples of how Niall McLaughlin harnessed light for different projects.
- Describe how McLaughlin sees the role of architects vs. occupants in creating meaning in the built environment.
- Explain McLaughlin’s interest in the tectonic aspect of design.
- Discuss what McLaughlin means when he talks about ordinary buildings that, later, become monumental.
