RIAI unveils 35 projects shortlisted for Irish Architecture Awards

logo_riaiWexford Opera House, Thomond Park in Limerick and two ground-breaking social housing schemes in Dublin’s inner city are among the 35 projects shortlisted for this year’s Irish Architecture Awards. Announced yesterday by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), the list also includes major public projects such as the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore, Co Offaly, as well as nine individual houses and three domestic extensions. At a time when many architects have been made redundant by the collapse of Ireland’s construction industry, RIAI director John Graby said it was heartening that so many projects – 225 in all – had been submitted and that the quality of those that made the cut was so high. The two shortlisted social housing schemes, both commissioned by Dublin City Council, are at York Street – designed by Seán Harrington Architects – and Timberyard, in the Coombe area of the Liberties, by multiple award-winning O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects. Seán Harrington Architects have also been shortlisted for the only public space scheme on the shortlist: the Tallaght Zip and Plaza, a dedicated promenade and cycleway designed to “zip” the old village and Square shopping centre together.

The Irish Times