Following news this morning about the topping out of one of the firm’s highest-profile projects in recent memory, Dublin-based O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects has been awarded the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland’s Gold Medal for their 2012 Lyric Theatre project in Belfast.

Featuring a brilliant CLT auditorium, the building is sited on a slope along the River Lagan and is defined by a distinctive irregular shape and time-tested materials that respond to the area's contrasting brick streetscape and lush green parkland which surrounds the 54,100-square-foot structure on either side.

The RIAI’s Peter Hynes commended the theater as a “deeply considered and exquisitely crafted building which responds to and engages with its physical and cultural contexts and enriches both,” adding that “it combines the welcome of arrival with the drama of movement and the surprise of discovery on many levels. It integrates public functions and programmatic requirements in a generous, innovative and mutually supportive way [serving] as a focal point for the local community and the wider creative community of the city and beyond.”

Other key figures in Irish society were quick to weigh in, noting the significance of the building in a long line of the country’s rich artistic and architectural history.

“As a society we place enormous trust in our architects, charging them with visualizing and designing the buildings which shape the environment in which we live our daily lives,” President of the Irish Republic Michael Higgins said in a statement. “Our architecture not only reflects the contemporary moment in which it was built. It also captures that moment for future generations, allowing them a greater understanding of the past from which the modern age has flowed. That is an invaluable gift to society, and a great responsibility for all those charged with the creation and construction of the edifices which define our landscapes. This Triennial Gold Medal is an important recognition of those who have excelled in this most critical field. I congratulate its winners, and commend The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland for its greatly valuable and generous work.”

This year’s shortlist was comprised of projects from Heneghan Peng Architects, Denis Byrne Architects, Donnelly Turpin Architects, Scott Tallon Walker Architects, McCullough Mulvin Architects, and Robin Lee Architecture, respectively. The jury was chaired by Hynes with help from Yvonne Farrell and White Ink director Joan McCoy, among others. The institute will convene again in three years to award its triennial prize based on projects from the 2013-2015 timeframe.