Each year the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) awards its Stirling Prize to one of the UK’s best new buildings. For its 26th year, the prize in 2022 was awarded to the Irish architect Niall McLaughlin, for the new library he designed for Magdalene College at the University of Cambridge.
A beautifully crafted building, McLaughlin’s library is a large box of books and the space in which to study them. But in housing an archive, a social space and a gallery, the building has a remit that is more expansive. With imagination, at the right moment, it has the potential to sing.
Set against the backdrop of the college garden, the natural materials (brick and wood) used throughout and the masterful way daylight has been introduced within its spaces evoke long-standing traditions of research. The award citation has duly acknowledged the building’s sensitive engagement with place and impressive sustainability credentials.
