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About the RIAI Awards
The RIAI Awards celebrate the work of Registered Architects, promoting good design and creating an awareness of the contribution that great architecture makes to society. Awards are made across a number of categories and time-frames, reflective of the breadth of architectural practice in Ireland while acting as a record of past and present change in the Irish built environment.
RIAI Annual Architecture Awards
The RIAI Annual Architecture Awards are intended to recognise outstanding works of Irish architecture completed during a single calendar year by RIAI Registered Architects and Practices.
RIAI Gold Medal
The RIAI Gold Medal is Ireland’s top accolade for architecture. Since 1934, the RIAI has awarded the Gold Medal to a building, either in Ireland or internationally, for a design of exceptional merit by an RIAI architect. The project must be completed within a defined three-year period and the medal is awarded several years after completion so that the success of the building can be confirmed by the passage of time.
RIAI Silver Medal for Housing
The RIAI Silver Medal for Housing is the highest award for housing design given by the RIAI. It is a biennial award made to encourage excellence of design in housing. The medal is awarded several years after completion so that the success of the building can be confirmed by the passage of time.
RIAI Silver Medal for Conservation
The RIAI Silver Medal for Conservation is awarded to an architect or architectural practice for projects of exceptional merit completed within a specified three-year period. The term conservation is interpreted to include works where buildings of historic importance are refurbished and adapted for contemporary use. The medal is awarded several years after completion so that the success of the building can be confirmed by the passage of time.
RIAI Silver Medal for Restoration
The RIAI Silver Medal for Restoration is awarded to an Architect or architectural practice for excellence in restoration. The term restoration is interpreted to include works where buildings of historic importance are restored as monuments. The award is specifically related to projects where architectural scholarship and research are major contributions to the quality of the project submitted for the award. The medal is awarded several years after completion so that the success of the building can be confirmed by the passage of time.
RIAI Student Awards
RIAI Scott Tallon Walker Student Excellence Award in Architecture
This award is sponsored by Scott Tallon Walker Architects in memory of the firm’s three founding partners, Dr Michael Scott, Dr Ronald Tallon, and Robin Walker.
The award aims to promote the study of contemporary architecture, encourage and foster architectural excellence among the student body, encourage and facilitate communications between the schools, and provide a basis for growing awareness of architecture in society through exhibitions and publications supported by the RIAI. The award seeks to recognise and reward excellence in final year architectural studies and create a platform to showcase the work emerging from Irish schools of architecture.
RIAI Rising Star in Architectural Technology Award
The RIAI Rising Star in Architectural Technology Award recognises an individual third-year student of Architectural Technology who exemplifies academic excellence and dedication to the field of architectural technology in the national context of architectural technologists’ education. The recipient shall have demonstrated a quality of performance that would be an indicator that they are likely to continue to develop into a distinguished member of their profession.
RIAI Student Award for Sustainable Design
The RIAI Student Award for Sustainable Design aims to recognise the awareness and integration of sustainable design principles by students as an inherent part of their design approach to a project or projects regardless of scale or complexity.
RIAI / Architecture Ireland Student Writing Prize
The RIAI / Architecture Ireland Student Writing Prize, offered by the editorial board of Architecture Ireland and the RIAI, is open to all students of architecture and architectural technology on the island of Ireland. The objective of the prize is to nurture and recognise the importance of writing in architecture. Students are invited to contribute an article of no more than one-thousand words on a theme of their choice.