The practice was established in 1988[2] by Sheila O'Donnell and John Tuomey,[3] who had both previously worked for Stirling Wilford in London.
[4] The pair formed part of Group 91 Architects,[4] the masterplanners for the regeneration of Dublin's Temple Bar district in the early 1990s.
"[9] The practice's Irish Film Centre and Gallery of Photography projects each won the Downes Medal in 1992 and 1996 respectively.
[3] They went on to design a number of other notable buildings, including the Lewis Glucksman Gallery at University College Cork,[4] the Irish installation at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2004, and the Ranelagh Multidenominational School, which won the RIAI Triennial Gold Medal in 2000.
Five of their projects were shortlisted for the Stirling Prize: the Ranelagh School in 1999, Lewis Glucksman Gallery in 2005, the Lyric Theatre in Belfast in 2011, An Gaeláras Irish Language Centre in 2012, and London School of Economics' Saw Swee Hock Centre in 2014.