O'Donnell_&_Tuomey
O'Donnell + Tuomey is an architectural practice based in Dublin, Ireland, described by the authors of Architects Today as one of "the godfathers of contemporary Irish architecture".[1] O'Donnell and Tuomey were the recipients of the 2015 Royal Gold Medal, awarded by the RIBA.
The practice was established in 1988[2] by Sheila O'Donnell and John Tuomey,[3] who had both previously worked for Stirling Wilford in London.[4] The pair formed part of Group 91 Architects,[4] the masterplanners for the regeneration of Dublin's Temple Bar district in the early 1990s. Both directors teach at University College Dublin[5][6] and have lectured at schools of architecture in Europe, the UK and US, including Harvard Graduate School of Design, Princeton University, Cambridge University and the AA Architectural Association School of Architecture.[7] In 2010 they were elected Honorary Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.[7] In 2013 the practice received the ICON Architecture Practice of the Year Award.[8]
When asked about their work on the occasion of their Royal Gold Medal ceremony, Tuomey stated: "I fundamentally think that [we believe architecture is] to give shape to everyday routines of society, or to make a society out of those everyday routines. To have a building feel like it's part of the fabric of social life is second nature to us."[9]