ROWAN MOORE WRITES ABOUT BISHOP EDWARD KING CHAPEL IN THE OBSERVER
APRIL 2013
Architecture critic Rowan Moore has written a review of the Bishop Edward King Chapel with the title “The Answers to their Prayers” that was published in the Observer Magazine. The article touches on the broader themes of the interpretation and appropriation of religious symbolism in architecture, and in this context praises the paradoxical nature of the chapel; “It is…heavy and light, a bastion and a boat, a wall and a drape. It has presence, but doesn’t dominate.” Describing the form and materiality of the building Moore writes, “The building is crafted and considered: it makes ideas physical: it has intentions and carries them out in its space and matter.”
Link to the article
ST. CROSS COLLEGE COMPETITION WIN
NOVEMBER 2012
Niall McLaughlin Architects will continue their work for Oxford University, having been announced as the winners of the competition to complete the West Quadrangle of St. Cross College.
The brief asked for a scheme that would provide ‘In whole and in detail…continuing satisfaction and unexpected moments of delight.’ Sir Mark Jones, master of St. Cross College stated, ‘It was felt that Niall McLaughlin was the designer who would best meet the needs of the College.’
In an interview for Building Design, Niall McLaughlin commented, ‘St Cross is an Oxford college with a special atmosphere based on a community that is very democratic and informal. It enjoys a lovely situation, tucked behind a busy thoroughfare on a site of significance for the history of the city. The competition process was collaborative and inclusive so we already share a good mutual understanding with the client. We are delighted to have won, particularly given the strength of the shortlisted practices.’