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NIALL MCLAUGHLIN RECEIVES AN HONORARY ROYAL DESIGNER FOR INDUSTRY AWARD

DECEMBER 2015

The title ‘Royal Designer for Industry’ is awarded annually by the Royal Society of Arts to designers of all disciplines who have achieved ‘sustained design excellence, work of aesthetic value and significant benefit to society’. The RDI is the highest accolade for designers in the UK; only 200 designers can hold the title and non-UK designers may receive the honorary title Hon RDI.

This year there were 8 RDI’s awarded. Alongside Niall McLaughlin were Ronan Bouroullec and Erwan Bouroullec who both also received an Hon RDI for their progressive and influential work across products, furniture and public spaces and impact on contemporary design culture, Michael Anastassiades RDI for his excellence and innovation in lighting design and supporting young designers, manufacturing and making in the UK, Kate Blee RDI for contributing her outstanding expertise in textiles to social investment projects and therapeutic public spaces, Kim Colin RDI for her sustained excellence in product design and applying design thinking to create thriving and sustainable enterprises, Karen Nicol RDI for pushing new boundaries in fabric and stitch design, promoting recycled textiles and designing for Fine Cell Work that teaches creative needlework to prisoners and David Pearson RDI for his distinctive and innovative contribution to British publishing and commitment to design education.

The Royal Society of Art’s Chief Executive Matthew Taylor commented ‘The RSA is committed to encouraging and rewarding outstanding designers who challenge convention, discover new insights, and improve our quality of life. These eight leading practitioners are from wide-ranging disciplines and are united by a driving commitment to innovate, create, educate and inspire others through design’.

Current architects with the title of Royal Designer of Industry are; David Chipperfield, Peter Clegg, Edward Cullinan, Norman Foster, Eva Jiricna, John Pawson, Alan Stanton, Sarah Wigglesworth, and Paul Williams.

Current architects with the title of Honorary Royal Designers are; Mario Bellini, Andrea Branzi, Antonio Citterio, and Peter Zumthor.

TINTAGEL COMPETITION SHORTLIST

SEPTEMBER 2015

Tintagel Competition Shortlist

Niall McLaughlin Architects are one of six shortlisted for the Tintagel Castle Bridge competition run by Malcolm Reading. The new footbridge will link the ruins of the 13th-century coastal castle, the mythical home of King Arthur, and the nearby headland. The winning scheme will stand 28 metres higher than the current crossing and spanning more than 70 metres. Also on the shortlist are Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes, Marks Barfield Architects, Ney & Partners Civil Engineers, RFR and Jean-Francois Blassel Architecte and Wilkinson Eyre. The competition jury which is chaired by Allies and Morrison partner Graham Morrison said ‘The competition’s first stage attracted high-level interest from around the world and we were delighted with the response. In choosing the shortlist we looked for designers likely to produce a range of imaginative ways of making a beautiful and economic structure that is right for this very particular setting”.