OCMA and KJA have taken Building of the Year in the Medical and Health category at the Building and Architect of the Year Awards 2026, earning recognition for a healthcare project that sets a new standard for technically complex, large-scale delivery in one of Ireland's most demanding built environment sectors.

University Hospital Limerick Acute Inpatient Ward Block presented the judges with an entry of exceptional ambition. The panel commended it as "an ambitious and technically demanding project, expertly delivered above live clinical services during a highly challenging period," a verdict that captures both the scale of the undertaking and the discipline required to execute it without disrupting the hospital's operational continuity below. Delivering above live clinical services is among the most constrained conditions any design and construction team can face, and OCMA and KJA met that challenge with expertise and precision throughout.

The building's response to its site is equally assured. Designed to navigate complex constraints while supporting a clear long-term strategy for hospital growth, the scheme demonstrates the kind of forward-looking planning that distinguishes genuinely strategic healthcare architecture from project-by-project expansion. The result is a building that serves immediate clinical need while positioning the hospital for the demands it will face in the decades ahead.

The quality of the interior environment reinforces that strategic thinking at a human scale. Generous, light-filled interiors and carefully framed views contribute directly to patient recovery and staff wellbeing, recognising that the therapeutic value of a well-designed healthcare environment is not incidental but integral to clinical outcomes. In a building of this scale, maintaining that quality of interior experience throughout is a considerable achievement in itself.

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