We are pleased to announce that the RSUA Building Inspiration Lecture in partnership with ARUP will return on Friday 25 September 2026.
This year we’ll be welcoming Níall McLaughlin, recipient of the RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2026, to the RIAI Gold Medal winning Lyric Theatre Belfast for this important lecture.
The Building Inspiration Lecture is a public talk in Belfast delivered by one of the world’s leading architects or leading architectural practices. Its aim is to raise people’s aspirations of what architecture can do for this region. It is an opportunity to inspire local architects and to engage clients, policy makers, politicians and the public and is expected to have island-wide appeal.
Speaker Info
With over 30 years in practice, Níall McLaughlin has created a portfolio of outstanding projects ranging from the cloud-like Bandstand at Bexhill; the calm orthogonal pavilions of the Alzheimer’s Respite Centre in Dublin; the latticed timber oval of the Bishop Edward King Chapel in Oxford to the very simple brick volumes of the Stirling Prize winning New Library Magdalene College.
Níall is a professor of architectural practice at UCL’s Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment – and views studying, practice and teaching as a vital continuum of learning and education. He was a visiting professor at the University of California Los Angeles from 2012 to 2013 and appointed Lord Norman Foster visiting professor of architecture at Yale for 2014 to 2015.
In April 2026, Níall was awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in celebration of his impact and achievements in advancing architectural practice, thinking, writing and education.
Full event details will be released in due course but, first and foremost, don’t forget to save the date.
