Irish architects among the international design elite

Irish architects are firmly on the international design map: with 20 buildings in Ireland featured in the 812-page Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture.

This huge undertaking involved a committee seeking out new buildings of note across the world. The original list of 4,000 buildings was then whittled down to 1,052, each one depicted through drawings, photographs and a description.

When deciding to have the word 'world' in the title, it does follow that the book needs to display a cross section of international architecture, so you wonder whether the whittling down from 4,000 was purely based on aesthetics or whether there was a sense of making sure that a good spread of countries was featured.

It seems aesthetics may have won the toss because there are definite loadings, with Europe featuring large, as does the US. Perhaps there is European aesthetic being applied: the emphasis is on the international take on Modernism and hi-tech rather than quaint vernacular designs.

But Ireland can hold its head up with 20 schemes featured: most of these will be familiar to those who take note of what's being erected on our land (see box).

Of the 656 international architects featured in the atlas, 42 have four or more schemes listed and Ireland's O'Donnell and Tuomey is among them. For the record, Norman Foster has the most buildings in this book, at a world-beating 14.

While this is just one book, it's likely to find itself on the shelves of reference libraries worldwide: how wonderful that Ireland is well represented.

The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture, €150

Irish schemes that made the book

de Blacam and Meagher: Wooden Building, Apartments, West End Temple Bar , Dublin 2; Three Mews Houses, Waterloo Lane, Dublin 4

Grafton Architects: North King Street apartments; Meath County Library; the Long House, Percy Lane,Dublin 2

McCullough Mulvin: Model Arts and Niland Gallery; Ussher Library, Trinity (with Keane Murphy Duff Architecture)

O'Donnell and Tuomey: Multi-denominational School, Ranelagh; Galbally social housing, Limerick; Research centre, UCD; Letterfrack Furniture College

Scott Tallon Walker: Oulart Hill Monument, Wexford; Entrance pavilion, Dublin Zoo

ABK Architects: Offaly Country Offices

Bucholz McEvoy: Fingal County Hall (with Building Design Partnership); Limerick County Hall

Glenn Howells Architects: Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre, Armagh

EEA Associate Architects: Crawford Art Gallery Extension, Cork

Benson and Forsyth: extension to the National Gallery, Dublin

Gumuchdjian Associates: Think Tank boathouse, Cork