Offaly County Council's new civic offices in Tullamore was named last night as the Best Public Building of 2003 in this year's Irish architecture awards.
Its architects, Ahrends Burton and Koralek, also won a second special award - Most Sustainable Building - for incorporating environmental principles into the design of the building.
The annual awards by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) were presented by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, and by Mr Tom Parlon, Minister of State at the Office of Public Works (OPW).
Of the 177 projects submitted, 24 won awards and a further 28 were selected for exhibition in the atrium of the OPW's headquarters in St Stephen's Green, Dublin, prior to a tour of 20 venues throughout Ireland.
The director of the RIAI, Mr John Graby, said the standard of entries this year had again been exceptional and the panel of judges had paid particular attention to the clients' opinions of submitted projects.
"Good quality architecture adds value not just to an individual project, but to the whole community in which the building is located. In that sense, architects provide a service to the public at large," he said.
Offaly County Council said of Áras an Chontae in Tullamore that it would "still be a modern building in 50 years' time" because of the way its architects had reflected the council's aspirations.
Another local authority project, the restoration by Wexford Borough Council of the town's historic quayfront won the Best Contribution to Urban Design award for its architects from the National Building Agency.
A housing scheme for Ballymun Regeneration Ltd, a subsidiary of Dublin City Council, in the Shangan area of Ballymun, designed by Derek Tynan Architects, took the award for Best Accessible Project. Ballymun Regeneration said the architects had created a project of "outstanding architectural merit", with exceptional spatial qualities and sense of light.
The houses had also proved very popular with their residents.
The Best Housing Project award went to Urban Projects for Clarion Quay, in the Dublin Docklands area. Developed by the Campshire Partnership, it was hailed as a model high-density development.
The Best Commercial Building award went not to an Irish project, but to the new Radisson SAS Hotel in Glasgow, a landmark building designed by a local firm, Gordon Murray and Alan Dunlop Architects.
Antoin MacGabhann Architects won the Best Building in the Landscape award for a contemporary house in Rathmullan, Co Donegal, designed for a couple who wanted something different.
A Heritage Council-sponsored conservation award went to the OPW's architectural service for the restoration of a mid-19th century shepherd's cottage in Co Wicklow for the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Mr Toal Ó Muiré, president of the RIAI, said the awards scheme represented a major part of the institute's contribution to promoting greater public awareness of architecture and its value.
He appealed again for an end to the logjam in certifying innovative construction methods, saying it was "unacceptable" that the lead time for testing new products was now longer than 18 months.
