JOIN USA husband-and-wife team of Irish architects have been named the 2015 recipients of the Royal Gold Medal, the world’s most prestigious architecture award. They are Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey, the third and fourth Irish citizens ever to have been awarded the coveted medal.
Granted in recognition of a lifetime’s work, the Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by the Queen and given to a person, or group of people, who have had a significant influence “either directly or in-directly on the advancement of architecture”.
Awarded since 1848, previous Royal Gold Medallists include Frank Gehry (2000), Sir Norman Foster (1983) and Frank Lloyd Wright (1941).
Sheila and John co-founded their practice, O’Donnell and Tuomey, in 1988, after having previously worked together for internationally-renowned architects Stirling Wilford and Colquhoun & Mills in London.
Through their buildings, publications, exhibitions and teachings, they have forged a confident new identity for Irish architecture.
The two Irish architects will be presented with the 2015 Royal Gold Medal at a special event in London on 3 February, 2015. They are the third husband-and-wife team to receive the award in the medal’s history.