The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced that the Irish architect, educator and writer will receive the 2026 Royal Gold Medal for architecture.

RIBA has named Níall McLaughlin as the recipient of the 2026 Royal Gold Medal, one of the highest international honours in architecture. Bestowed on behalf of the King, the award recognises McLaughlin’s contribution to architectural practice, education and writing over more than three decades.

RIBA described McLaughlin as a “pivotal figure in contemporary architecture,” citing a body of work characterised by a consistent sensitivity to place, material, craft, light and form, regardless of scale or budget. His projects span cultural, educational, religious and residential typologies, including the Bandstand at Bexhill (2001), the Alzheimer’s Respite Centre in Dublin (2011), the Bishop Edward King Chapel in Oxford (2013), and The New Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge (2021), which won the 2022 Stirling Prize.

The 2026 RIBA Honours Jury said McLaughlin’s work “not only enriches the architectural profession but also addresses its evolving challenges,” highlighting projects that “challenge conventional notions of architecture and regeneration, illustrating a visionary approach that prioritises environmental and cultural considerations.”

Alongside practice, McLaughlin has maintained a longstanding commitment to architectural education. He has taught at the Bartlett School of Architecture for over 25 years and held visiting professorships at the University of California, Los Angeles and Yale University. RIBA noted his advocacy for young architects, transparency in working conditions and openness around mental health within the profession.

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On receiving the award, McLaughlin commented: “I am delighted and honoured to receive the 2026 Royal Gold Medal for Architecture. My team and I view architecture as a continuity of practice across generations. We are grateful to our teachers, who passed on the spirit, and our students, who continually question and transform it. As a small studio, we have grown and learned together. Thank you to all those who have collaborated with us and supported our ideals through commissioning, design and construction.

“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. 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.”

A public lecture with Níall McLaughlin will take place in London on 30th April 2026.

Níall McLaughlin Architects
niallmclaughlin.com