Five firms of architects - all from abroad - have been shortlisted in an international competition to design a landmark scheme for the Stillorgan Road frontage of UCD's Belfield campus.
The "UCD Gateway" project is to include a wide range of facilities and is intended by the college's president, Dr Hugh Brady, to provide a visual and functional link between Belfield and the wider community.
When the competition was launched last October, he said the college's aim was to create a "gateway" of significant architectural quality that "will be recognised throughout the world" - putting UCD on the map.
John Graby, director of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), said yesterday it was surprising that no Irish architectural practices were found suitable for this highly prestigious and complex project.
This was particularly so, "given the internationally recognised standards of Irish architecture" - as exemplified by Heneghan Peng Architects winning a worldwide competition for the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Mr Graby said the RIAI had no direct involvement in the UCD competition - although the jury includes Michael O'Doherty, former principal architect with the Office of Public Works and long-standing member of the institute.
It is understood that one Irish practice - whose name is not being revealed - made the "longlist" of 10 chosen by the jury from 62 entries, but failed to make the shortlist. Altogether, eight Irish firms submitted entries. The final shortlist contains such luminaries as Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid. Her recent projects include the BMW headquarters in Leipzig, Germany, and the Maxxi art museum in Rome.
Another firm which made the final cut are Oslo-based architects Snohetta, whose work includes the Bergen School of Art. Veteran English architect Sir Michael Hopkins is also on the list. His practice's previous work includes the tented Mound Stand at Lords Cricket Ground in London.
Behnisch Architects, with offices in Stuttgart and Los Angeles, made the shortlist on the strength of their gateway project at Arizona State University; their Irish partners for the UCD project are Fitzgerald Kavanagh. Another German firm, Dusseldorf-based Ingenhoven, is the fifth finalist.
