Munster Express Online

Left to right, Fintan Duffy, director and principal architect on short-listed entry; June Bolger; Eddie Phelan, project architect; Shane O'Connor; Máire Henry, director. Missing from photo is Harry Bent, director.

A Waterford firm, dhbarchitects, is all set to compete in the final stages of the World Building Award 2010 which takes place in Barcelona in November.

Nominated for their work on the former Presentation Convent, now Waterford Health Park.

The awards are at the centre of the World Architecture Festival (WAF), an annual festival which gathers together leading architects to celebrate excellence in building design and development. This year, the festival is expected to attract more than 2,000 delegates from 80 countries. Given the scale of the competition with more than 500 entrants, it is a considerable achievement for dhbarchitects to be shortlisted to the final stages.

The awards provide a unique opportunity to showcase a Waterford building, the Waterford Health Park, to a world class audience. dhbarchitects will exhibit and present their entry live to delegates attending the festival and to a jury of over 60 internationally acclaimed judges. Waterford Health Park falls into the health buildings category with additional categories for sports buildings, museums, schools, commercial building and residential houses.

Located in Broad Street dhbarchitects have been in operation since 2005 and have worked on an extensive range of high quality projects in Waterford including the Gael Scoil at Ballygunner, La Boheme Restaurant and Mount Mellery Abbey.