The UCD Sports Centre has today been announced as the ‘Public Choice’ for building of the year for 2013 by the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI). The award follows voting by some 12,500 people and highlights the relationship between sport and cutting edge design in Ireland. Thomond Park redevelopment won the Public Choice award in 2009.
The RIAI said: “The use of colour, choice of materials and the simplicity of its layout contribute greatly to its ease of use. The result is a dynamic building devoted to providing sports and recreational facilities to the students and staff of UCD as well as to members of the public, regardless of age, size, ability or disability”.
This years winner, by Fitzgerald Kavanagh Architects, is one of a long list of sporting venues which have received accolades over the years with Croke Park winning the prestigious RIAI Gold Medal in 2009 and the Aviva Stadium winning the Best Leisure and Accessible building in 2011.
The sports capital programme has helped fund many modern sports facilities such as Thomond Park and was reintroduced last year with funding being allocated in December 2012, for local projects to a value of €26m with a further €4m being allocated for regional and national projects, for the coming years.
More information on the Architecture Ireland awards can be found here
More information on sports capital funding can be found here