The Sunday Times

There was disappointment in local quarters when the results of the biennial European Union prize for contemporary architecture were announced in April. Hopes had been high - and with good reason - that several Irish projects completed during 1999 and 2000 would be among the finalists. Instead, Irish architecture went away empty-handed for the first time in six years. Now, thanks to the Office of Public Works (OPW), we can see for ourselves how Irish architecture compares with the best contemporary work across Europe. An exhibition of the finalist projects for the 2001 EU prize - better known as the Mies van der Rohe award - opens on Friday at the OPW atrium on St Stephen's Green in Dublin.