Ranelagh Multidenominational School in Dublin has won the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland's (RIAI) gold medal for the "uplifting effect" it has had on children and staff since it was completed in 1998.
O'Donnell and Tuomey Architects were presented with the prestigious medal - the highest honour in Irish architecture - by President McAleese at a ceremony yesterday in the RIAI headquarters on Dublin's Merrion Square.
All of the award-winning and commended projects were in the public or not-for-profit sectors, including two that were commissioned by local authorities: Fingal County Hall, in Swords, Co Dublin, and Dublin City Council's boardwalk on the Liffey Quays.
The President said the chosen buildings "make us very proud to be part of an imaginative generation . . . in an extraordinary time of dynamism and excitement in Ireland", and she predicted that this generation would be "held in awe" in the future.
RIAI president Tony Reddy said the 10 projects showed that "excellence, skill and innovation in Irish architecture has never been more evident". He said the winning building was "truly striking and outstanding", and that the gold medal was well deserved.
The jury said O'Donnell and Tuomey's school, built on a restricted site in a conservation area, went "far beyond the requirements of the brief" to create a building characterised by "elegant massing" and an interwoven series of indoor and outdoor spaces.
"The interpretation of what a 'standard' eight-classroom school can be has produced a learning environment that clearly has an uplifting effect on both children and staff, and which has also developed into a vibrant community centre," said the citation.
The members of the jury - Róisín Heneghan, Paul Kelly, Shane O'Toole and Mike Shanahan - noted that the architects and their clients are planning an extension to the school. This is to be done in a way that will retain its architectural quality.
The gold medal is presented triennially for the design of a building of exceptional merit completed within a three-year period, in this case between 1998 and 2000. Ten projects had been shortlisted by the RIAI jury.
For the first time the institute invited the public to vote for its favourite building in an internet poll, with a special gold medal award for the popular choice, which was Fingal County Hall, by Bucholz McEvoy Architects, in association with BDP Dublin.
Fingal County Hall was also highly commended by the jury, as was Tulach a' tSolais, a contemporary memorial to the 1798 Rebellion on Oulart Hill near Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, which was designed by Ronald Tallon and sculptor Michael Warren.
Commendations went to the Model Arts and Niland Gallery in Sligo, by McCullough Mulvin Architects, and the Liffey boardwalk by McGarry Ní Éanaigh Architects, who were also shortlisted for the plaza and lighting masts in Dublin's Smithfield.
Other finalists included three projects in Dublin by deBlacam and Meagher Architects: the Esat building on Grand Canal Quay, the Wooden Building in Temple Bar and a mixed-use development at the corner of Castle Street and Werburgh Street.
The latter two had already won RIAI silver medals, while deBlacam and Meagher also won the gold medal in 1997 for Cork Institute of Technology's library. The remaining finalist this year was Charlotte Quay, Dublin, by O'Mahony Pike Architects.
Previous winners include Desmond FitzGerald for the original terminal building at Dublin airport (1944), Michael Scott for Busáras (1952), Liam McCormick for Burt Church, Co Donegal (1966), and Arthur Gibney for the IMI, Sandyford, Co Dublin (1974).
