The veteran Irish architecture critic Shane O'Toole once remarked that when traveling in Europe in the 1970s, "The universal comment was is there modern architecture in Ireland? Now, in less than 50 years, we've gone to a Pritzker Prize and two RIBA Royal Gold Medallists in five years." He attributes this change in perception to a design competition that launched the careers of several of Ireland's award-winning architects of today. This was the Temple Bar Framework Plan competition of 1991 in the center of Dublin, the capital of Ireland, which was won by a group of architects still in their 30s, running under the name of Group 91.
A convoluted history lies behind the competition. Like many cities in Europe, Dublin went through a period of decline in the middle of the twentieth century, where many residents chose to leave the urban centers while shipping and manufacturing declined. The Temple Bar area is situated in the city center, bound to the North by the River Liffey and to the South by Dame Street. To the East are Trinity College and the Parliament complex, while to the West are City Hall and Christ Church Cathedral.
