Grafton Architects have been named as the recipient of the Royal Gold Medal, awarded annually by RIBA, in recognition of their significant lifetime contribution to the advancement of architecture. The medal will be presented to Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara at a special ceremony in London next year. It is only the fourth time in a century or more for the award to go Ireland. Previous Irish recipients of the Royal Gold Medal were Dundalk-born structural engineer Peter Rice as well as Michael Scott and O’Donnell+Tuomey Architects.
Grafton Architects’ directors have taught and lectured at some of the world’s most famous universities, curated exhibitions and shown their own work globally. In 2018, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara curated the Venice Architecture Biennale, with the theme of “Freespace”.
Denise Maguire
Editor of Plan Magazine
Email: denise@mcdmedia.ie