Niall McLaughlin Venice Biennale 2016, Ireland, Buildings, Office, Studio, News
Niall McLaughlin Architects: Ireland at Venice Biennale 2016
15th International Architecture Exhibition, Italy – Irish Architectural Practice
24 Nov 2015
Niall McLaughlin Architects: Ireland at Venice Architecture Biennale 2016
Niall McLaughlin Architects to represent Ireland at Architecture Exhibition in Venice in 2016
Minister of State Ó Ríordáin announces the selection of Niall McLaughlin Architects to represent Ireland at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice in 2016
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht,
today (16 November, 2015) announced the selection of Niall McLaughlin Architects to represent
Ireland at the 15 th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice in 2016.
Alzheimers Drawing – Ireland at Venice Architecture Biennale 2016:
The Minister, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to supporting Ireland’s participation at the
Venice Biennale, noted, ‘international interest in and appreciation of contemporary Irish
architecture continues to grow and Ireland’s presence at the Biennale provides an outstanding
opportunity for Irish architects to platform new thinking and exhibit Irish architectural approaches.’
The theme of the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, which will be held from 28 May to 27
November 2016, is entitled ‘Reporting from the Front’. Announcing the theme, Alejandro Aravena,
the Biennale artistic director, stated, ‘there are several battles that need to be won and several
frontiers that need to be expanded in order to improve the quality of the built environment and
consequently people’s quality of life…at this Biennale, we want to see stories worth telling and
exemplary cases worth sharing where architecture has, is and will make a difference in winning
those battles and expanding those frontiers’.
Bishop Edward King Chapel by Niall Maclaughlin
photograph © Niall Ferguson
Responding to the overall theme of the Biennale, the proposal presented by Niall McLaughlin
Architects and curated by Yeoryia Manolopoulou, reflects their interest in working as architects to
understand and improve the quality of life for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
The selected team will examine the spatial experiences of people with Alzheimer’s disease whilst
recognising that the experiences of the sufferer are unlikely to resemble any conventional
architectural representation. The installation at Venice will record and represent the human
experience from this frontline condition and show it as a space with its own characteristics. This
central concept will be accompanied by a contextual piece and also a social media campaign to
extend the impact of this exhibition beyond the Biennale.
Christine Sisk, Director of Culture Ireland said: ‘The Venice Architecture Biennale is the greatest
world showcase for the presentation of contemporary architectural talent. The selection of Niall
McLaughlin Architects to represent Ireland in 2016 will serve to build on Ireland’s successes over the
years at the Biennale and serve to further highlight the ingenuity and responsiveness of Irish
architects to difficult challenges.’
Orlaith McBride, Director of the Arts Council, said: ‘The Arts Council is proud to support Niall
McLaughlin Architects to represent Ireland at the Venice Biennale in 2016. Niall’s work demonstrates
the international importance of Irish architectural practice today and we are looking forward to what
promises to be a wonderful representation in Venice.”
Ireland at Venice is an initiative of the Culture Ireland Division of the Department of Arts, Heritage
and the Gaeltacht in partnership with the Arts Council.
Ireland at Venice Architecture Biennale 2016 – Biographies
Niall McLaughlin
Niall McLaughlin was born in Geneva in 1962, was educated in Dublin and received his architectural
qualifications from University College Dublin in 1984. He worked for Scott Tallon Walker in Dublin
and London between 1984 and 1989 before establishing his own practice, Niall McLaughlin
Architects, in London in 1990, with a view to designing high quality modern buildings with a special
emphasis on materials and detail. Niall won Young British Architect of the Year in 1998, was one of
the BBC Rising Stars in 2001, and his work represented Britain in a US exhibition Gritty Brits at the
Carnegie Mellon Museum.
His designs have won many awards in the UK, Ireland and the US; including an RIAI award for Best
Building in the Landscape and the RIBA Stephen Lawrence Award, and have featured on the RIBA
Stirling Shortlist 2013 and 2015.
Niall is Professor of Architectural Practice at University College London, was a visiting professor at
the University of California Los Angeles from 2012-2013 and was appointed Lord Norman Foster
Visiting Professor of Architecture, Yale University for 2014-2015. He acted as chair of the RIBA
Awards Group from 2007 to 2009.
His practice has considerable experience of developing and delivering exhibition proposals; such as
the Bloom exhibition at the RIBA, the De La Warr Pavilion Bandstand in Bexhill, the Vidal Sassoon
Salon in Boston and the Drawing Floor in Dublin.
Yeoryia Manolopoulou
Yeoryia Manolopoulou is an architect, educator and researcher. She is Senior Lecturer and Director
of Research at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. Yeoryia received her Diploma in Architecture
at the National Technical University in Athens, and completed a MArch and one of the first PhDs by
Architectural Design at The Bartlett.
In 2006, she established AY Architects with Anthony Boulanger. The practice is particularly
concerned with the social purpose of architecture, often self-instigating projects. One of these
projects, Montpelier Community Nursery, won a RIBA National Award and the 2013 Stephen
Lawrence Prize. AY Architects received international attention with their installation House of Flags
erected on London’s Parliament Square to celebrate the Olympic Games in 2012. In 2014, the
practice was BD’s Small Project Architect of the Year Award Finalist while Yeoryia was shortlisted for
the AJ”s Emerging Woman Architect of the Year Award.
Yeoryia has exhibited and lectured internationally. She has acted as external examiner for several
architecture schools, including TU Delft and the Architectural Association. She has served on the
RIBA Awards Panel and the peer review college of the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Yeoryia
is author of the book Architectures of Chance and founding editor of the online series Bartlett Design
Research Folios.
Website: la Biennale di Venezia 2016
Website: Niall McLaughlin Ireland Venice Architecture Biennale 2016
Buildings by Niall McLaughlin Architects
Selected Architecture
Student Accommodation, Somerville College, Oxford, England
Niall McLaughlin Architects
photo : Nick Kane
Somerville College Student Accommodation
Bishop Edward King Chapel, Cuddesdon, Oxfordshire, southeast England
image from architect
Bishop Edward King Chapel
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts – LAMDA, London, UK
image from architect
LAMDA Building
ARC Hull, northeast England
photo © Niall McLaughlin
ARC Hull by Niall McLaughlin Architects
Café, Deal Pier, Kent, southeast England
image from Niall McLaughlin Architects
Deal Pier Cafe
Dirk Cove House, Ireland
photograph © Niall McLaughlin
Dirk Cove House by Niall McLaughlin
Silvertown Housing, Silvertown, East London, UK
photograph © Niall McLaughlin
Silvertown Housing London
Location: London, south east England, UK
Niall McLaughlin Architects UK – Practice Information
Architect office based in England
Niall McLaughlin : London Architect Studio
Bishop Edward King Chapel, Cuddesdon
Design: Niall Maclaughlin
photograph © Niall Ferguson
Chapel in Oxfordshire
Website: Ireland at Venice Architecture Biennale 2016
London Architect : Practice Listings
Website: Niall McLaughlin Architects Ireland
ARC Hull : photo © Niall McLaughlin
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Niall McLaughlin Architects at Venice Biennale 2016 – page
Website: Niall McLaughlin Architects: Ireland Venice Architecture Biennale 2016
