Born in Geneva and based in London where he established his namesake architectural practice in 1991, McLaughlin joins recent RIBA Royal Gold Medal recipients, including SANAA, Lesley Lokko, Yasmeen Lari, and Balkrishna Doshi.  The prestigious Royal Gold Medal, which has been awarded annually by RIBA on behalf of the British monarch since 1848, has recognized a handful of past Irish winners, including Grafton Architects (Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell) in 2020, 2015 winners O’Donnell & Toumey (Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey), and Peter Rice and Michael Scott, the laureates in 1992 and 1975, respectively.

Faith Museum. Photo © Nick Kane

Saltmarsh House. Photo © Nick Kane

In its announcement, the prize jury applauded McLaughlin for producing a body of work that “challenges conventional notions of architecture and regeneration, illustrating a visionary approach that prioritizes environmental and cultural considerations.” Projects by McLaughlin published by RECORD include the Faith Museum in Bishop Auckland, England, and the Saltmarsh House on the Isle of Wight, which was a 2023 Record House. McLaughlin has also appeared on RECORD’s DESIGN:ED podcast and was a featured presenter at the 2024 Innovation Conference in New York City. At the event, he discussed several projects by his firm built in historically significant environments, detailing how architecture creates a series of connections and continuity through time.

McLaughlin presents at the 2024 Innovation Conference in New York. Photo © Laura Stiles

Other signature projects noted in the announcement of McLaughlin’s win include the Alzheimer’s Respite Centre in Dublin (2011); Bishop Edward King Chapel in Oxford (2013); and the New Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge (2021), which was the recipient of RIBA’s 2022 Stirling Prize. (Previous works were shortlisted for the Stirling in 2013, 2015, and 2018.)

Magdalene Library. Photo © Nick Kane

In addition to his celebrated built work, McLaughlin’s commitment as an educator is also hailed by the jury: “An advocate for young architects, transparency in working hours and pay, and openness around mental health, he demonstrates through both practice and pedagogy, a model way of working.” He has taught at The Bartlett School of Architecture in London for more than 25 years, with shorter stints at the University of California Los Angeles (2012-2013), and Yale, where he served as the Lord Norman Foster Visiting Professor of Architecture (2014-2015). McLaughlin himself studied architecture at University College Dublin between 1979 and 1984.

 “Through practice, we have learned that architecture is not the production of singular objects, but an ongoing performance of development, alteration, and reinvention through lived experience,” said a “delighted” McLaughlin in a statement reacting to the win. “At a time of accelerating technological change in design and construction, we continue to insist on the human rituals and material practices at the heart of our discipline. Building is an act, not an object. Architecture lies in its making and the way that it shapes learning, culture, and communal life.  We accept this recognition with gratitude and with a renewed commitment to live up to its challenge.”