A Dublin primary school building has been awarded Ireland's most prestigious architectural honour, in the form of a gold medal from the Royal Institute of Architects (RIAI).
Architects Donaghy + Dimond have won the prize for their sensitive repurposing of the Model School Inchicore's original 1853 building and the construction of a three-storey extension.
The RIAI jury praised the architects for delivering "a project of real delight and social significance for the school and the local community".
The RIAI gold medal is awarded just once every three years or more to a building constructed by an Irish architectural practice, whether built in Ireland or abroad. The award is made several years after completion so that the success of the building can be confirmed by the passage of time.
The Model School was chosen from a shortlist which included Dún Laoghaire’s Central Library, the student centre at the London School of Economics, and a chapel in Oxfordshire in England.
The school buildings were completed more than a decade ago.
They are distinguished, according to the RIAI, by "exquisite detailing, the combination of stone, concrete and timber forming a rich and sustainable palette, a tribute to the skill, care and thought, at every level, of the architects".
Yesterday the school was bathed in winter sunlight, the sun's rays throwing exquisite patterns across ceilings and floors. Windows framed the glinting bare black branches of the school’s historic horse chestnut trees, and gave fleeting glimpses of passing buses, or the bustle of Inchicore village and even the Dublin mountains.
The school's trees were immortalised in the poem 'Model School, Inchicore' by the poet Thomas Kinsella, who attended the school as a small child.
When the school's new timber-clad three-storey building opened more than ten years ago, pupils immediately found a name for it; the treehouse. It is not hard to see why. Apart from all of its timber, both inside and out, in the second and third-floor classrooms you are literally up among the surrounding trees.
Khadidja Ouidah is a student teacher on placement at the school now, but 11 years ago she was an eight-year-old pupil there, when the new building came into use.
"It was so exiting," she said. "From the point of view of us kids we were like 'oh my God this is like our own treehouse’. When you are upstairs and you look outside you are surrounded by the trees."
Today's pupils also love that view, and other views too. Two 6th class pupils Poppy-Mae Cody and Nathan Adjinakou singled out the view from a small bathroom window as their favourite thing about the school.
"You can see Inchicore village and a few weeks ago there was snow on the mountains and you could see that," Nathan said.
Principal Breda McEvoy loves the way spaces in the building lend themselves to multiple uses. The corridors in the new building become workspaces for children who want somewhere quieter than a busy classroom.
Long window seats in the classroom can also be colonised by children for reading or other activities away from their group desks. In a sunlit central area in the old building, a child’s head pops out from a little tent in the corner. The tent is another cosy and comforting space for any child who needs a little peace and quiet.
Of the windows and the views Breda said, "we see the weather, the seasons, we see birds building their nests. In the south inner-city you wouldn’t expect such a connection with nature but we have it, from the building".
The new building also delivered a much-needed PE hall for the school. This is 5th class pupil Amy Hickey’s favourite place.
"It’s kind of underground almost, the window is part of the wall, you can see out into the yard, people running and playing."
She is right. The hall does dip down a few feet under the level of the ground outside. It feels especially enclosed and the view of the yard from its window is an up-close one, of children and legs and feet.
At a time when many new schools are modular ‘off the peg’ designs, Model School Inchicore stands out.
"Quality architecture has an impact on people’s lives" RIAI president Seán Mahon said, "and it is even more critical in our schools which are children’s first experience of public buildings".
With so many schools crying out for new buildings, he said Ireland's school building programme also needs to strive for quality, and he mentions in particular, sustainability and the climate challenge.
"The right outcomes are not always the quick outcomes," he said. School buildings should not be constructed "at the expense of problems for the next generation".
The RIAI judges used words such as "delight" and "magical" to describe these buildings. They also spoke of "robustness".
Architects Will Dimond and Marcus Donaghy told RTÉ News the award was "an immense honour".
"We were spoilt by having an amazing site, even though it was incredibly tight to build, and amazing qualities," Mr Donaghy said.
In this DEIS school, principal Breda McEvoy has a more immediate priority: learning.
"It’s the sense of light and space that we have in the building," she said, "and the simplicity of the materials. Having a lovely space to learn in, promotes learning for everybody."
