Project Description
FROM RIBA:
An Gaeláras Irish Language Arts and Cultural Centre, Derry, Northern Ireland, shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2011
“Architecturally, it marks a turning point in their work and is the first in a series of public buildings that explore circulatory intrigue. Comprising the usual array of offices, meeting spaces, café, auditorium and bookshop, An Gaeláras uses the standard lexicon of contemporary cultural buildings. Where it differs, it succeeds best. O’Donnell + Tuomey has neatly side-stepped the obvious pitfalls of a building of this type. It has neither made a divisive icon nor created a civic museum, both of which would have alienated at least half the population and dulled a living language. Instead, it has made a home for Irish-speakers.” – Stephen Best [via ArchitectsJournal at http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/2011-stirling-prize/an-gaelras-by-odonnell-tuomey-architects/8620411.article]