Awards showcase good design and build quality

WITH THE times that are in it the annual Opus awards were held at a lunch in the RDS yesterday, a break from the usual dinner at the Four Seasons but while architects, builders and developers are experiencing a muted moment there was much to celebrate in the quality of some structures that had been built in the Irish property market's glory days.

With straitened times there is no reason why good design and build quality - both rewarded in the Bank of Ireland Opus Architecture and Construction Awards - should not continue whatever the economic climate. The judges (Ciarán O'Connor, Noel Dowley, Roger Dunwoody, Sean Stewart and Pearse Sutton) made up a shortlist of 37 buildings of the 159 submissions and visited them over six days.

Commercial projects - which is our remit here - ranged from structures that cost less than €2 million to those that were more than €20 million. While architects may look in envy at projects that achieved a bigger budget for a similar-sized building, it is nearly always possible to bring in some joy and ingenuity.

A school sports hall in Dundalk, won McGarry Ni Eanaigh Architects and Francis Haughey Building and Civil Engineering Contractors a "Commended" in the under €2 million category for showing "what skill and commitment can achieve", said the judges.

The "Award" winner in this category was the Donegal house, by MacGabhann Architects and Barney Coyle and Sons, that also won an RIAI (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland) award this year. The same architects (with McDermot and Trearty Construction) also won an "Award" in the €2 million to €20 million category for its Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny that nods towards the style of Daniel Libeskind who Tarla MacGabhann once worked with.

In the same category, the Retreats and Lapping Pool at the Park Hotel in Kenmare, Co Kerry by Oppermann Associates and KPH Construction was "Commended" with the assessors concluding that: "Pampering and treating oneself has been lifted above interior decoration and soft music by this project."

Indicating that good architecture can emerge from seemingly unlikely projects, a hostel in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, by MV Cullinan Architects and Robert Doyle Construction was "Highly Commended" for being popular with its users. "The scenic location has been enhanced not harmed by the new building," said the judges.

Grafton Architects won two "Highly Commended" in this category, one for a fire station in Drogheda (built by Brendan Duffy Construction) in which "attention to detail is evident throughout", and for the new Government offices on Dublin's Merrion Row (by John Paul Construction) whose design has prompted endless debate among architects, the public (and an actor), something reflected during the Opus judging: "There was much discussion between the assessors about this project after the site visit." The skill in design and build was lauded but the priority of circulation space over user space was deemed "problematic".

The previous week Grafton had been awarded the "World Building of the Year" prize for its university extension in Milan - of a similar style to the Dublin offices. The latter has been publicly criticised by actor Gabriel Byrne and also by architect Don Murphy during an Open House architectural debate - neatly showing how architectural appreciation is subjective and how architects can, and often do, get plaudits and scorn for their work within days of each other.

The brave space-ship like Commissioners of Irish Lights building in Dún Laoghaire, by Scott Tallon Walker and Bowen Construction, won an "Award" in this category. The deep Light House Cinema in Smithfield, Dublin 7 by DTA Architects and GT Crampton, which has scooped four screens out of the ground in a design that guides people into the depths of the earth through use of colour and materials to orientate them, shows how "inventive design executed with clarity and precision, combined with constitutional know-how, will win through against the odds", said the judges.

In the over €20 million category Elm Park, in Dublin 4, gathered an "Award" just as it did at the RIAI awards. The judges said the "detailed design of the individual buildings are a credit to the client, architect and contractor" who included Bucholz McEvoy Architects and Michael McNamara Co.

The Wexford Opera House, by OPW Architectural Services and Keith Williams Architects with Cleary Doyle Contracting, also got an "Award" in this category, for the way it slots into the town and because it serves its purpose well. The handsome main auditorium was aptly, and metaphorically, described by the judges: "The Opera Hall is a finely formed musical instrument in beautifully crafted timber."

Mellowes Quay in Dublin by Gilroy McMahon Architects and P Elliot and Company picked up a "Commended" in this category and an extension to the AIB HQ in Ballsbridge, Dublin, by RKD Architects and John Sisk and Son Ltd was "Highly Commended" for the way that the new part added to the structure in a way that added up to "more than the sum of its parts" and the high standard of construction was praised.

And it was John Sisk and Son's former managing director, Kevin Kelly, who picked up this year's lifetime achievement award. He was credited for maintaining quality while heading up Sisk through the Celtic Tiger expansion and for his work at Treasury Holdings more recently.

"He is personable, persuasive and committed to whatever undertaking he has in hand."

• The full list of Opus winners can be seen at Plan Expo in the RDS Simmonscourt until Thursday