Design Matters: Architect John McLaughlinn

From a sequined pavilion for Bord Gáis on Dublin’s North Wall Quay with artist Martin Richman, to viewfinders on Killiney Hill, to the public spaces in Dublin’s Docklands, award-winning architect John McLaughlin looks at the smaller things that make up our world.

“In school I was interested in maths and artistic subjects and went on to do architecture at UCD. I admired early modernist architects, like Mies van der Rohe, but that was the heyday of postmodernism, and there was a conflict of thinking, which I think was good for us."

"I worked in Paris and London for over a decade, before becoming director of architecture at Dublin Docklands Authority. Most buildings were designed by corporate architects, so we were designing the public spaces. I think you experience a city through public space rather than big buildings."

"I set up my own practice in 2010, working on a variety of projects. I’m interested in how culture and history contribute to place: last year, Viewfinders framed views of Killiney Bay, alongside historic prints of the same views, so people could see how they’d changed over time. People often think of architecture as being about making big things, but we were making a small thing to show how culture makes place, and layers it."

"We always make our projects playful too. I’m working on the exhibition design for Liminal, the exhibitions celebrating ID2015 in Milan, New York, Dublin and Eindhoven. I’d curated the Irish Pavilion at the Venice Architectural Biennales in 2012 and 2014 (with Gary Boyd), and I was interested in how you can use an exhibition to probe what architecture is about, and where it might go in the future."

"The ID2015 team have an exciting vision for design in Ireland, and it’s changed my expectations of what Irish design is. From animation to product design there’s a lot I wasn’t aware of. Liminal is about crossing boundaries between disciplines, so we’ve created an exhibition with no walls. We’ve used fabric instead, to make it more indeterminate. It’s been a fantastic project, and I’ve been learning a lot about the diversity of design talent in Ireland.”

[ johnmclaughlin.ie ]