40 Under 40
Published by London & NY: Taschen 2011
Edited by Jessica Cargill Thompson
The use of lighting, both natural and artificial, to create texture within an interior is deftly handled within McLaughlin’s work. Concealed roof lights and glass screens set up layers to diffuse and reflect light, casting ever changing patterns across walls and floors. Throughout his work, a point is made of allowing the occupant to sense the quality of light changing during the day as the patterns and colours in the room gradually change.
“We are less interested in the overall expression of technology by bolts, junctions and gaskets, more in the overall presence of a space. In particular, the way in which materials alter space by modulating light, combining it, diffusing it, storing it, reflecting it, dulling it or changing its speed.”
A love of materials – “We work with anything from gold to Daz” – and knowledge of the production process means that all McLaughlin’s work is beautifully produced, whether the intricate joinery in the London Carmelite monastery or the carefully devised pattern of individually cast paving stones in a garden. He works with the same small group of craftsmen and builders, discussing all his designs with them.