Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara have well made their mark in designing highly acclaimed academic buildings around the world. Most recently, the Grafton Architects co-founders were named the recipients of the 2017 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture, the University of Virginia's highest external honor. Medalists are recognized for their achievement in the fields of Architecture, Law, Citizen Leadership, and Global Innovation, all which U.S. president Thomas Jefferson highly regarded. Previous architecture medalists include Cecil Balmond and Toyo Ito.

Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Grafton Architects + Shell Arquitectos. Photo: Iwan Baan - Courtesy of Grafton Architects.

In UVA Today, University of Virginia School of Architecture dean Ila Berman acknowledged Farrell and McNamara for their outstanding architectural contributions to culture and education, as seen in projects like the highly acclaimed UTEC in Lima that won RIBA's inaugural International Prize and the Universita Luigi Bocconi in Milan, which won World Building of the Year at the first World Architecture Festival.

University of Limerick Medical School by Grafton Architects. Photo: Dennis Gilbert.

Grafton Architects' other notable academic buildings include the University of Limerick Medical School and Student Accommodation in their native Ireland. Farrell and McNamara were also recently appointed to curate the 2018 Venice Biennale.

Farrell and McNamara along with the other 2017 medalists will be celebrated during UVA's Founder's Day on April 13 — Jefferson's birthday. On the same day, the architects will give a public lecture in Campbell Hall, room 153 at 3 p.m.

In case you missed it, listen to Archinect's One-to-One #49 with Yvonne Farrell, director of Grafton Architects – winners of the RIBA International Prize