RIBA Stirling Prize 2022 Awarded to Magdalene College's New Library in Cambridge

The New Library at Magdalene College by Niall McLaughlin Architects has been crowned the winner of the 26th RIBA Stirling Prize, according to the Royal Institute of British Architects. The new library offers students at the 700-year-old University of Cambridge college a 24/7 study space that includes an archive and an art gallery.

Located in the heart of Cambridge, the library replaces the cramped study areas of the adjacent 17th-century Pepys Library and extends the quadrangular arrangement of buildings and courtyards that have developed over time from the original monastic college.

The building pays homage to its rich historical surroundings by combining contemporary sustainable design elements with traditional load-bearing brick, gabled pitched roofs, windows with tracery, and brick chimneys. It contrasts openness with intimacy and gradually rises towards the light, fulfilling the architects' vision for the structure.

As soon as visitors arrive, they are greeted with a beautiful brick facade and large wooden doors that invite them into the tiered timber interior basked in natural light. The triple-height entrance hall leads to a central reading room with a double-height ceiling. The interior design is supported by a regular pattern of brick chimneys that not only hold up the timber floors and bookshelves but also distribute warm air throughout the building. In between each set of four chimneys, there is a large skylight that illuminates the space. A passageway on the eastern end of the building provides stunning views of the college grounds, gardens, and river.

The grid structure provides a diverse range of spaces, with wide zones for reading and group study, and narrow zones for staircases and bookcases. It also offers a variety of study areas for individual study, with desks, tucked into bay windows, private niches, and shared zones, allowing students to work alone or with others, depending on their preference.

This modern building is designed with energy efficiency in mind, utilizing simple passive ventilation and natural lighting strategies to reduce energy consumption. It also features environmentally friendly materials, such as engineered timber structures, to minimize its carbon footprint during construction.

Speaking on behalf of the 2022 RIBA Stirling Prize jury, RIBA President Simon Allford, said:

 

“A unique setting with a clear purpose – The New Library at Magdalene College is sophisticated, generous, architecture that has been built to last.  

Creating a new building that will last at least 400 years is a significant challenge, but one that Niall 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 the 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 building 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.  

Well-designed environments hugely improve student success and well-being. They should be the rule for all students and teachers in all places of learning, not the exception.  

As universities across the world work hard to position themselves in an ever-growing higher education marketplace, investment in great buildings is essential. This is an exemplary model to aspire to.”