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�The challenge of history is to recover the past and introduce
it to the present� - said John Gormley TD, Minister for the
Environment, Heritage and Local Government, at the annual
RIAI Irish Architecture Awards at the CHQ, IFSC, Dublin Docklands.
�In the surroundings of the beautifully restored CHQ, it
is easy to see how the past and the present can live easily
together if we give enough attention to conservation and clever
design� - the Minister added.
�Achieving the ambitious targets for energy efficiency in
all our buildings will present challenges to the construction
industry. The signs are most encouraging that industry - more
and more - accepts the commercial benefits of moving with
us on this reform process. We look forward to continuing the
journey with them over the next few years. For my part, I
am determined to lead from the front in terms of introducing
new and innovative policies and technologies to address this
challenge.�
Minister Gormley referred to the changes which he has made
to the Building Regulations in December 2007 - which require
new dwellings to achieve a 40% reduction in energy consumption
and a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions
from 1 July next. The Minister added - �I will further update
the Building Regulations in 2010 to achieve a 60% improvement
over the 2005 standards for new dwellings.�
Minister Gormley complimented the RIAI for the recent introduction
of a statutory registration scheme for architects - the legal
provision for which he, as Minister, had commenced on 1 May
2008. �The Building Control Act 2007 rightly provides that
the legitimate use of the title 'architect' is restricted
to properly-qualified professionals whose names are entered
on a national statutory register. Similar provisions will
apply to the titles of 'Quantity Surveyor' and 'Building
Surveyor'" - the Minister stated.
The Minister presented the 'Most Sustainable Building
Award' - which is sponsored annually by his Department
- to the winning client, designer, contractor and site foreman
of the winning entry - the Civic Offices building in Cork
City. The Department had again commissioned the beautiful�
statuette - The Messenger' - in Irish Bog Oak, with
the theme - 'The Artist lives in hope for a better tomorrow'.
A private house overlooking Lough Swilly in Co Donegal -
Tuath na Mara - won the first ever Public Choice
Award category - voted on by the public. The house in
Portsalon - with its zig-zag roof to catch both the rising
and the setting sun - also won Best House award.
Architect Tarla MacGabhann, who designed the house with his
brother Antoin, said the public award was �profoundly more
important� to them than awards they have won from their peers.
�What we do as architects must be experienced and encountered
by the public on a daily basis. That�s what really matters.
This is a public endorsement� - he said. Their firm has also
been nominated in a category for the internationally-renowned
Stirling Award for the new regional cultural centre in Letterkenny.
Minister Gormley extended his warm congratulations to all
the winners and to all those whose work was of such high quality
that it merited short-listing - and formally opened the RIAI
Irish Architecture Awards 2008 Exhibition.
For a list of RIAI Irish Architecture Awards winners - Click
Here
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