Immersion: Royal Gold Medal exhibition on the process and practice of Níall McLaughlin Architects

Commissioned by the Royal Institute of British Architects to celebrate Níall McLaughlin as the recipient of the 2026 Royal Gold Medal, Immersion explores Níall McLaughlin Architects' unique approach, investigating how architecture that is defined by a deep sensitivity to place, material, craft, light and form comes into being.McLaughlin is an architect, educator, and writer who, with over 30 years in practice, has emerged as a pivotal figure in contemporary world architecture.

His work is defined by an ethereal quality – from the cloud-like Bandstand at Bexhill (2001); the calm orthogonal pavilions of the Alzheimer’s Respite Centre in Dublin (2011); the latticed timber oval of the Bishop Edward King Chapel in Oxford (2013); to the simple brick volumes of The New Library Magdalene College (2021) which went on to win the 2022 Stirling Prize.

Varying broadly in typology and scale, NMLA’s projects are united a by profound commitment to their users, resulting in spaces of clarity, elemental geometry, and restrained materiality.Immersion looks at the work of the practice through the lens of its extraordinary emerging proposals for the Museum of Jesus’ Baptism in Jordan.

Demonstrating how the practice explores spatial and material propositions, a highly crafted, large-scale model employs materials representative of the Levantine landscape and the Museum’s future construction, while a documentary film narrates the inspiration and methodology behind the remarkable design.Recognised by UNESCO as the place where St John baptised Jesus Christ, the museum site is a 2,000-year-old place of pilgrimage and devotion on the east bank of the River Jordan, the lowest point on earth at the meeting of two continents.

The Arabic name of the Baptism site is Al-Maghtas – The Immersion – and in NMLA’s museum proposal this carries a dual meaning – describing the act of baptism itself as well as the engagement of the visitor with the site, its history and spiritual meaning.

The microcosm of the museum will create a new visitor gateway to the wider archaeological site, telling the story of the Baptism through a sequence of gallery spaces that are both informative and experiential.

The aim of the exhibition is to immerse the visitor in the imagined world of NMLA’s competition proposal.