The National Museum at Collins Barracks has received the premier award for conservation from the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI).
The Silver Medal for Conservation was presented yesterday by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, to the Architectural Services of the Office of Public Works and Gilroy McMahon Architects.
Mr Toal Ó Muire, the RIAI's president, explained that the award was made every three years to encourage the conservation of buildings of architectural merit, whether by preservation, restoration or adaptation to new uses.
Mr Michael O'Doherty, director of OPW Architectural Services, said it was a "wonderful challenge" to take the important range of 17th- and 18th-century military buildings around Clarke Square and convert them for use by the National Museum.
Mr Des McMahon, of Gilroy McMahon, said the primary task facing the architects was to turn 7,500 sq metres of barrack rooms into a fully flexible 21st-century museum space incorporating air-conditioning, security and communications systems.
The jury for the conservation medal - Prof Loughlin Kealy, Mr Cathal Crimmins and Mr Paul Arnold - said the new spaces "hewn from the existing cellular structure" were fine and, in general, respected the nature and footprint of the original building.
Although they regretted the loss of vaulting to the arcade of the barracks, they said the removal of two corners of the square in the late 19th century had been "well exploited" to provide lifts and staircases to give access to the various levels of the museum.
Collins (formerly the Royal) Barracks was the first purpose-designed military barracks in Europe and the oldest to remain in continuous occupation until it was evacuated by the Army to make way for the National Museum's decorative arts division.
The conversion of two sides of Clarke Square for museum use was the first phase of a larger project, which would involve a new range of buildings to the west.
However, this €43 million project may be one of the casualties of the Government's current round of cutbacks. Its architectural treatment, which would attempt to replicate the original facades of the square, has also been criticised as a resort to pastiche.
