{"id":504808,"date":"2026-06-17T19:41:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/504808\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T19:41:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:41:12","slug":"masterclass-in-inclusive-design-irelands-favourite-building-in-public-choice-award-revealed-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/504808\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Masterclass in inclusive design\u2019: Ireland\u2019s favourite building in public choice award revealed \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new Special Educational Needs school in Letterkenny<\/a>, Co Donegal, has been named Ireland\u2019s favourite building by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI)<\/a> in the public choice award category. <\/p>\n

The Little Angels School, designed by McGarry N\u00ed \u00c9anaigh Architects, is within a landscape of sensory gardens, trails and amenity areas. <\/p>\n

\"AerialAerial view of the Little Angels School in Letterkenny <\/p>\n

The school was designed for students with complex needs, requiring architects to navigate regulations, site challenges and varied human experiences. <\/p>\n

The project was described as \u201ca masterclass in inclusive design\u201d, providing a vibrant, intuitive new home for an established community of staff and students aged 3 to 18. <\/p>\n

\"CourtyardCourtyard of Little Angels School, Letterkenny <\/p>\n

The school caters to pupils with moderate, severe, or profound learning disabilities, alongside students on the autism spectrum<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Speaking of the winning entry, RIAI president Fionnuala May said the school had \u201ctransformed the lives of its students, staff and wider community, demonstrating the power of architecture to create meaningful and lasting change\u201d. <\/p>\n

She said the school stood as a strong example of how architects were \u201ccatalysts in the delivery of the high-quality public infrastructure\u201d needed by Ireland to meet \u201cour social and economic ambitions in the decades ahead\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"Runner-up,Runner-up, the new facade of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland on St Stephen’s Green, Dublin <\/p>\n

The runner-up in the Public Choice Award was the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland<\/a>\u2019s RSCI) Project Connect by Henry J Lyons. <\/p>\n

Lyons redefined the college\u2019s facade and civic presence on Dublin\u2019s St Stephen\u2019s Green.<\/p>\n

The awarding body said the building balanced \u201cbold contemporary architecture with sensitivity to its historic surroundings\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"ThirdThird place went to the museum in Athy, Co Kildare, dedicated to the polar explorer Ernest Shackleton <\/p>\n

The Shackleton Experience in Athy<\/a>, Co Kildare, dedicated to the polar explorer Ernest Shackleton<\/a>, ranked in third place.<\/p>\n

The museum, with its striking protruding iceberg-like glass extension, transformed the protected structure into a \u201cworld-class visitor experience, boldly reimagining the building as a civic and cultural home for Ernest Shackleton\u2019s legacy\u201d, the RIAI said. <\/p>\n

The RIAI received 174 entries, with 44 projects shortlisted, including six international buildings from the US to Japan. All the entries can be viewed at riai.ie<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The RIAI Irish Architecture Awards presentation will take place tomorrow evening at Merrion Cricket Club in Dublin 4, designed by 2022 RIAI winner Taka Architects, where the full list of winners across all categories will be announced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new Special Educational Needs school in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, has been named Ireland\u2019s favourite building by the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,6128,308,93,61,60,3770,1486,4310,13310,97329,45546],"class_list":["post-504808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-autism","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kildare","tag-letterkenny","tag-property","tag-royal-college-of-surgeons-in-ireland","tag-royal-institute-of-architects-of-ireland","tag-st-stephen-s-green"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}