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Kevin Kieran Award - Antoinette O' Neill

The ultimate creative satisfaction for the architect is to produce built work. As a funding agency for the arts the Arts Council supports artists across all artforms to produce work - make art. However, given the nature of architecture as a professional service and its intimacy with the building industry, developing a framework to fund the artistic work of the architect is challenging.

When Kevin Kieran became consultant on architecture to the Council in 1997 he quickly defined the areas he wanted to address - planning, education and buildings for the arts. Within education the needs he identified for the qualified architect were; time for artistic development and the opportunity to undertake a significant building commission. This duel-purpose award was proposed in the 2nd Arts Plan 1999-2001 and is Action 27 of the government programme Action on Architecture 2002-2005.

After Kevin's death in 1999 the task was to ensure that the award he envisaged was developed and run. The issue of awarding a building commission became the challenge. The Arts Council pledged �50,000 every two years for the research element of the Award. The OPW, as manager of the state property portfolio, was involved in discussions from the earliest stages and ultimately agreed to collaborate in the award and deliver the commission for the successful candidate. Without this collaboration, the award could not have been designed in the spirit of what Kevin intended.

Awards for architecture, including the AAI awards and the RIAI regional awards are granted in recognition of achievement and could be more accurately categorised as prizes (indeed most of the internationally placed awards in architecture are called prizes). The Kevin Kieran Award affords the successful candidate an opportunity to develop some thread of research or investigation which will inform their artistic career and uniquely affords them an opportunity to make built work.

A long-term aim of the Award is to provide a snapshot of the culture of architectural thought of a given time. To this end the Arts Council will generate an archive of the work - both research and building - for each award made.

In 2002 21 architects applied for the Award. This number was reduced to 7 by assessment panel. The panel then returned to interview the shortlisted candidates. The panel was chaired by Siobh�n N��anaigh architect/member Arts Council, Elizabeth Hatz, Professor of Architecture KTH Stockholm, Mohsen Mostafavi, Chairman Architectural Association London, John Tuomey, Partner O'Donnell Tuomey Architects Dublin and Michael O'Doherty Principal Architect OPW.

Gr�inne Hassett is the first candidate to be awarded the 50,000 Kevin Kieran Award. The Award will be offered again in April 2004.