The New Library at Magdalene College in Cambridge by Níall McLaughlin Architects has won the 2022 RIBA Stirling Prize.
Photos
Nick Kane
The Royal Institute of British Architects has named The New Library at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge by Níall McLaughlin Architects as the winner of the 26th RIBA Stirling Prize.
A new addition to the 700-year-old college campus, The New Library provides a 24/7 library, archive and art gallery that replaces the outdated study spaces provided by the 17th-century Grade I listed Pepys Library adjacent. It continues the courtyard arrangement of the colleges, and with its pitched roofs, chimney stacks and brick-and-engingeered-timber construction aims to offer a “building that will stand the test of time” both aesthetically and environmentally.
“A unique setting with a clear purpose – The New Library at Magdalene College is sophisticated, generous, architecture that has been built to last,” said RIBA President and 2022 RIBA Stirling Prize jury chair Simon Allford. “Creating a new building that will last at least 400 years is a significant challenge, but one that Níall McLaughlin Architects has risen to with the utmost skill, care and responsibility. The result – a solid and confident, yet deferential new kid on the college block.”
“The light-filled, warm-wood interior lifts spirit and fosters connections. Students have been gifted a calm, sequence of connected spaces where they, and future generations, will be able to contemplate and congregate, enjoying it both together and apart. The overarching commitment to build something that will stand the test of time can be felt in every material and detail, and from every viewpoint. This is the epitome of how to build for the long-term.”
Architect Níall McLaughlin said: “The Magdalene College Library is a work of many hands and many minds. The College created the possibility for success in the way that they initiated and managed the project. The appointment of designers, consultants, builders, and craftsmen was treated with care. Throughout the development process, our team was supported and robustly questioned in our decisions.”
“We knew we were building for a client who was motivated to achieve the best outcome. Our responsibility to the history and future development of this learning community was clear. We were asked to build for the long-term using present resources wisely. This is the first time a college has won the Stirling Prize. It is good to celebrate the contribution these remarkable communities have made to the development of modern architectural culture in Britain.”
The project was selected from a shortlist of six projects that included 100 Liverpool Street by Hopkins Architects, Forth Valley College – Falkirk Campus by Reiach and Hall Architects, Hackney New Primary School and 333 Kingsland Road by Henley Halebrown, Orchard Gardens, Elephant Park in London by Panter Hudspith Architects and Sands End Arts & Community Centre in London by Mæ .
The jury for the 2022 RIBA Stirling Prize comprised Simon Allford (RIBA President and Chair), architects Glenn Howells of Glenn Howells Architects and Kirsten Lees of Grimshaw), and artist Chris Ofili. The jury was advised by sustainability expert Smith Mordak of Buro Happold.
The winner of the 2022 RIBA Stirling Prize was announced at a ceremony at 66 Portland Place in London on Thursday 13 October, alongside the recipients of the Neave Brown Award for Housing and the Stephen Lawrence Prize.
