TOP AWARD FOR CHAPEL AT CIVIC TRUST AWARDS
APRIL 2014
Niall McLaughlin Architects were delighted to receive the National Panel Special Award for the Bishop Edward King Chapel at this year’s Civic Trust Awards Ceremony, held in Blackpool earlier this month. The award is one of eight Special Awards that are presented in addition to the Civic Trust Awards, to celebrate projects that are deemed to be outstanding in a specific area. The National Panel Award is given to the scheme that the National Panel members select as their favourite from among the Award winning projects. David Pritchard, chair of the Civic Trust Awards National Panel, described the Chapel as ‘an uplifting building’ and said that their decision to give the Chapel this top award had been unanimous.
ATHLETES OCCUPY OLYMPIC HOUSING
AUGUST 2012
In the run up to the London Olympics, the Athletes’ Village housing block N15, is now occupied with athletes’ preparing for the games. Niall McLaughlin Architects have designed the external skin of the housing block on a ‘chassis’ designed by Glen Howells. The facade samples fragments of the Elgin Marbles, scanned from the British Museum and converted into 3D pre-cast panels depicting galloping horses from the Parthenon Frieze.
Niall McLaughlin commented on the practice’s approach to the unusual commission in Building Design. ‘I was very interested in the principle of the facade being delaminated from the building’s core form. Usually it’s something one tries to swim against to retain a sense of ‘authenticity’, but here we decided to embrace it….I like the idea of setting Ruskin’s conception of the craftsman against the absolute Taylorism of the construction process. Through digital reproduction, these deracinated stones are now doubly lost.’ (Building Design 27.01.2012)