(…) Two projects by O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects succeeded to the WAF short-list – Timberyard Social Housing in Dublin and the Irish language centre Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin in Derry, which was one of the final two buildings in the “Civic and Community” section and praised for its “outstanding design qualities”.

A medium-sized Dublin-based practice, O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects have been successful in international competitions, having recently won competitions for two key projects in London – the Gallery of Photography and the London School of Economics Students’ Centre. In 2003, they received first prize in the open international competition for the new Lyric Theatre in Belfast. The 400-seater theatre with studio space and related facilities will be completed in 2011. O’Donnell + Tuomey represented Ireland at the 2004 International Architecture Biennale in Venice with the sensitive redevelopment of a former Industrial School in Letterfrack, Connemara into a new Furniture College. In recognition of being “one of Ireland’s most notable architects”, Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey were given Honorary Fellowships by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 2010.

(…) Irish practices are increasingly becoming known abroad for their expertise in sustainable design, developing low energy solutions that are sensitively placed in the landscape, in tune with local climatic conditions, while delivering a high quality design. Combining these concerns in a high quality design aesthetic points to the way to future of Irish architecture in a global landscape.

(Sandra O'Connell, The Global Landscape of Irish Architecture)

(...) the opportunity for RIAI members from elsewhere in the 26 Counties to work in the North is already marked by several impressive projects from Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey: the Blackwood Golf Centre at Clandeboye; An Gaeláras in Derry; The Lyric Theatre nearing completion in Belfast; and the Market Yard museum and library under way in Coleraine.

Narrative is often what foreign observers specifically associate with Irish architects and architecture – the ability to tell a story. Hence, for instance (…) several aspects of Group 91’s Temple Bar Framework Plan, a collaborative effort that included McGarry NiEanaigh, Grafton Architects, O’Donnell + Tuomey, and five contemporary firms.

I hear myself referencing Temple Bar more frequently abroad than when in Ireland. This is due in part to surprise, or disappointment, that this collaborative model hasn’t been appropriated and adapted more often elsewhere and in other contexts. At least part of Group 91’s success was in telling a story, its comprehensible account of how to put that sector of Inner City Dublin back together again. While Roddy Doyle may well disagree, there are perhaps fewer tales or metanarratives in contemporary outer suburbia.

(Raymund Ryan, Irish Brand Architecture. Roaming charges may apply)

The book also includes an essay on Timberyard Housing: 'Chinese puzzle in the Liberties' by Kester Rattenbury, first published in Architecture Ireland, August 2009.