A Dublin-based architecture firm has scooped two major honours at the 25th annual Architectural Association of Ireland (AAI) awards.

O'Donnell + Tuomey Architects took the Downes Medal, the main award of the event, for its work on Dublin City Council's Timberyard social housing scheme in the Liberties.

The firm, which has won more awards than any other in Ireland, also walked away with one the AAI special awards for Gaeláras, a new Irish language cultural centre in Derry.

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Speaking about the arts centre, which has been built on Great James Street in the city's Georgian quarter, O'Donnell + Tuomey said: "The building has been carefully designed to be sympathetically integrated with its urban context and to be clearly legible as a significant cultural building within the architectural landmarks of the city."

The award jury's foreign assessor, noted architect and critic Charles Jencks, said the "grace and gravitas" of both projects was "exemplary".

(NS/GK)