RIAI AWARDS SHOWCASE DESIGN TALENT:THE COURTS of Justice and a building at Sandford Park School in Dublin and the Westmeath County offices and library are among the high-profile buildings on the 55-strong shortlist for the RIAI (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland) awards. The winners will be announced on June 21st.
There were 182 entries for this year’s awards across 14 categories. Last year, a shortlist of 35 was chosen from 225 entries. One prize is for the public’s favourite building, which can be voted for online at irisharchitectureawards.ie.
“The diversity of the shortlist shows that architectural skill and design adds value not just to large and corporate and public projects but at the scale of the family home,” said chair of the judges Eddie Conroy,
Civic buildings on the shortlist are by established practices and include Cork County Library HQ by Shay Cleary Architects, a scheme in Co Limerick by ABK Architects and Rush library by McCullough Mulvin, which has opened a new chapter fora former church.
Well-known design-led practices are also responsible for the few new educational projects on this list, including the Lios na nÓg Gaelscoil by A&D Wejchert and Partners and buildings at Sandford Park School by DTA Architects.
Two exquisite buildings in the health category are the Leap building at the Delta centre in Carlow, by Meme Architecture, and the Alzheimer’s Respite Centre in Dublin by Niall McLaughlin, whose brother also has a building on the shortlist.
The striking thing is the number of domestic projects, with more than 16 making the shortlist. Many are by the younger generation of architects whose names come up again and again: they include Odos, Boyd Cody, Ailtireacht, Lawrence and Long, A2, Takka, and Donaghy and Dimond.
Some of the houses are lived in by the architects who designed them while Henry J Lyons, who designed the Criminal Courts beside the Phoenix Park, has its own offices on the shortlist, showing architects can practise what they proclaim.
