Magdalene College wins Stirling Prize 2022

An all-round Stirling effort

Last week, the New Library, at Magdalene College, Cambridge University won the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize for 2022. The internationally renowned accolade recognises the UK’s very best new building in the UK; hotly contested, it celebrates structures that have made the greatest contribution to architectural evolution in the past year.

The library is a landmark in contemporary design, comprising a beautiful library, meeting rooms, an archive centre, and an art gallery, with interiors dominated by European Oak.

James Latham Ltd (Lathams), the UK’s leading independent timber distributor, played an integral role in the project, supplying 130m² of Florian machined European Oak for the Library’s furniture, as well as 3,000m of its exclusive Woodex® Engineered European Oak for the building's external doors and windows.

In an order worth over £300,000, Lathams worked closely with the project’s fabricators, Wedd Joinery (Furniture) and Piper Joinery (doors and windows), supplying the large volumes required for the build at short notice to meet the project’s tight deadlines.

Commenting on the accolade and Lathams’ involvement in the project, Group Head of Marketing, Stuart Devoil says, “To be involved in a project like this is incredibly special, made even more so when it receives one of the world’s  most important architectural awards. Fundamentally, it was a great example of how close collaboration between all parties involved can lead to exceptional results.”

He continues, “Florian machined European Oak is a fantastic product. With such a high-quality finish and outstanding performance, it will endure both in terms of visual appeal and substance. It was also great to see Woodex® chosen for the window and door frames, perfectly showcasing the qualities of engineered wood and its suitability for applications that  require high levels of resistance. Applied in such a magnificent setting, it demonstrates timber’s unrivalled beauty, versatility, and sustainability.”

To find out more about Lathams’ work on the New Library, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge click here.

To find out more about Lathams’ extensive portfolio of timber products click here.