© Image: Pete Carr Photo

RIBA: Royal Gold Medal exhibition: Níall McLaughlin

Now open at RIBA North, this free exhibition celebrates the 2026 Royal Gold Medallist, Níall McLaughlin - Architect, Educator and Writer.

This specially commissioned installation, Immersion, celebrates Níall McLaughlin, recipient of the 2026 Royal Gold Medal for Architecture.

At it's centre is a highly crafted model of The Museum of Jesus’ Baptism, a major recent international commission. Due for completion in 2030, the museum will create a new gateway for visitors and pilgrims at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the historic site traditionally recognised as the place of Christ’s baptism.

Created especially for this exhibition, the large-scale model was designed and built by Níall McLaughlin Architects during an intensive month-long process in their London studio. Developed through a process of close collaboration, testing, and refinement, it reflects the same care and rigour in the practice’s buildings. Materials were trialled and carefully adjusted to capture the museum’s rich earthen palette, while construction techniques were tested to achieve precision, texture, and atmosphere.

Now reconstructed for the exhibition, the model is more than a representation of the building. It is a design object in its own right; a tool for exploring ideas, and a way of revealing how the museum will emerge from the landscape to welcome visitors through its sequence of spaces, shaped by shadow, light, and movement as they descend through the landscape. 

The model is accompanied by a film revealing the inspiration and principles behind the building’s remarkable design. 

Immersion invites visitors to explore how architecture can respond to landscape, history, and faith, with imagination and care.

About Níall McLaughlin

With more than 30 years in practice, McLaughlin is an architect, educator, and writer, recognised as a pivotal figure in contemporary architecture. His work is defined by a deep sensitivity to place, material, craft, light, and form.

Find out more about Níall McLaughlin Architects.

Opening Times and Location

25 April to 7 June 2026   

RIBA North and Tate Liverpool, Gallery 2

Monday to Sunday including bank holidays: 10am to 5.50pm

Free

Check before you visit: RIBA North and visitor information at Tate Liverpool

Festival Partners