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Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara win 2020 Pritzker Prize

The 47th and 48th Laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize are the first from Ireland.

The 2020 Pritzker Prize Laureates have been announced. Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara Farrell are the 47th and 48th recipients of architecture’s greatest honour. and the first to come from Ireland.

The announcement was made by Tom Pritzker, Chairman of The Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the award.

“Architecture could be described as one of the most complex and important cultural activities on the planet,” said Farrell. “To be an architect is an enormous privilege, and to win this prize is a wonderful endorsement of our belief in architecture. Thank you for this great honour.”

Farrell and McNamara have both been architects and educators since the 1970s. The pair established Grafton Architects in 1978 in Dublin, where they continue to practice and reside. Since then, they have completed almost 40 projects in Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Peru. Their work includes academic, civic and cultural institutions, as well as housing developments.

Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, photo courtesy of Alice Clancy

Urban Institute of Ireland, photo courtesy of Ros Kavanagh

Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, School of Economics, photo courtesy of Dennis Gilbert

Parnell Square Cultural Quarter, City Library, rendering courtesy of Grafton Architects

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