Siege engines and market halls informed the design of the Auckland Tower, a larch entrance building and viewpoint that Niall McLaughlin Architects has created for a castle in England.
The entrance marries a tall tower with a ticket hall and is the first port of call for visitors to Auckland Castle and its new Faith Museum in the town of Bishop Auckland.
Niall McLaughlin Architects decided to incorporate a lookout into the design as the castle did not previously have a tower, and the studio's founder felt it deserved one.
Above: Niall McLaughlin Architects built the entrance to Auckland Castle. Top image: it combines a tower and ticket hall
Initially, the tower was designed in stone, but it was redeveloped with an open, wooden form, which is intended to mimic a medieval siege engine ? a weapon used to destroy fortifications. This was motivated by an illustration in a book on Medieval fortifications by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc ? the architect who renovated Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.
It has a larch structure. Photo is by Richard Chivers
"We originally designed a stone tower for the castle, but Historic England objected to a tower," Niall McLaughlin Architects explained.
"They did not like the idea of the castle overlooking the town. Niall felt that every castle should have a tower to climb up," the studio told Dezeen.
The tower references siege engines. Photo is by Richard Chivers
"During the consultation, we changed our strategy by conceiving of th...