Two Spanish among the winners for Olympicopolis

Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey met while they were studying architecture at University College Dublin and have worked together in partnership as O’Donnell + Tuomey for more than 25 years. They have exhibited three times at the Venice Biennale. They received the RIAI Gold Medal for Ranelagh Multidenominational School in 2005 and have been seven times winners of the AAI Downes Medal for excellence in architectural design. They have been twice shortlisted for the RIBA Lubetkin Prize, four times for the Mies van der Rohe European Award, and five times for the RIBA Stirling Prize.

They both teach at University College Dublin and have lectured at schools of architecture in Europe, the UK, Japan and the USA, including Harvard, Princeton, Cambridge and the AA. They were elected honorary fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 2010. They are both members of Aosdána, the affiliation of Irish artists.

They are the 2015 recipients of the Royal Gold Medal, the world’s most prestigious award in architecture, awarded by the President of the RIBA.

John Tuomey (Tralee, Ireland, 1954), gets the B.Arch. at University College Dublin in 1976, working for Stirling Wilford & Associates (London) between 1976 and 1980 and the Office of Public Works in Dublin between 1981 and 1987. Tuomey has served as visiting professor at universities like Princeton's Graduate School of Design (GSD), Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford. He was president of the Architectural Association of Ireland between 1992 and 1993, and member of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (1994). In 2004, he obtained the M.Arch from University College Dublin, becoming a professor of Architectural Design (Architectural Design) since 2008 in the same university. It has been Chair of RIBA Stirling Prize jury in 2009, and Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 2010.

Sheila O'Donnell and John Tuomey established O'Donnell + Tuomey in 1988. The practice has developed an international reputation for cultural, social and educational buildings including the Irish Film Centre, Ranelagh School, Furniture College, Letterfrack, Glucksman Gallery, Cork, Timberyard Social Housing and the Lyric Theatre in Belfast. They are currently engaged in the design of university buildings, schools, housing and mixed use buildings in Ireland and the UK. They have been involved in urban design projects including the Temple Bar regeneration in Dublin and the Zuid Poort masterplan in Delft. Both lecture in University College Dublin and have taught at a number of schools of architecture in UK and USA including AA, Cambridge, Princeton, Harvard, Syracuse and Buffalo Universities. O'Donnell + Tuomey's work has been widely published and exhibited and has received many national and international awards.

Sheila O'Donnell (Dublin, Ireland, 1953), gets the B.Arch at University College Dublin in 1976, working for Spencer & Webster from 1978-1980, and Colquhoun and Miller between 1979 and 1980. In 1980, she obtained the Master of Arts from the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London, the same year she starts working for Stirling Wildford & Associates (London). O'Donnell has served as visiting professor at various universities like Princeton, Buffalo and Washington. He has been jury of awards such as the Royal Institute of British Architects (2005-2009), and member of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (Ireland) and the American Institute of Architects.

Sheila O'Donnell and John Tuomey established O'Donnell + Tuomey in 1988. The practice has developed an international reputation for cultural, social and educational buildings including the Irish Film Centre, Ranelagh School, Furniture College, Letterfrack, Glucksman Gallery, Cork, Timberyard Social Housing and the Lyric Theatre in Belfast. They are currently engaged in the design of university buildings, schools, housing and mixed use buildings in Ireland and the UK. They have been involved in urban design projects including the Temple Bar regeneration in Dublin and the Zuid Poort masterplan in Delft. Both lecture in University College Dublin and have taught at a number of schools of architecture in UK and USA including AA, Cambridge, Princeton, Harvard, Syracuse and Buffalo Universities. O'Donnell + Tuomey's work has been widely published and exhibited and has received many national and international awards.