RIBA architecture awards for five NI buildings
Five buildings in Northern Ireland have won architectural excellence awards.
A mental health facility in north Belfast and four houses won regional awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Martin Hare of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) said the five awards were "unprecedented".
"This reflects well on our local architectural talent and confirms our built environment is prospering from some excellent design work," he said.
Mr Hare said the awards "recognise the astonishingly hard work required by architects and their design teams as they elevate well planned and considered buildings and infuse them with something that delights the intellect and inspires the spirit".
House on Church Road, Belfast
Built overlooking Belvoir Park golf course, the suburban house is praised as a "home full of vitality and life, one that dreams of the city beyond".
It uses red brick, which the judges say is "one of the materials that characterises Belfast".
"In essence, this house is a fragment of the city of Belfast located in one of its suburbs," the judges said.
The architect was Hall McKnight.
Grillagh Water House, Maghera, County Londonderry
Primarily built using four repurposed shipping containers, the judges said the small rural house was "full of brio and youthful exuberance".
"Grillagh Water House offers a new vernacular to the rural landscape of Ireland, using the very technology that robbed Ulster of its linen mills - the shipping container," the judges said in their citation.
As well as being a Northern Ireland award winner, it also won a small projects award.
It was designed by Patrick Bradley Architects.
House at Maghera, County Down
This family house in the Mourne Mountains was praised by the judges as "a credit to architect, client and builder".
"This is a family house providing an empathetic framework of beautiful spaces for its occupants, opportunistically using the site and appropriate technologies to achieve an eminently habitable and sustainable home," they said.
The architect firm behind the design was McGonigle McGrath.
Old See House, Belfast
A health care centre providing support for people with mental health issues, the building is situated in a mainly residential area in north Belfast.
"Old See House is inviting, open and naturally lit, promoting a sense of calm and well-being," the judges said.
"Care and attention has been taken throughout to provide a calming and attractive environment with timber, comfortable and functional seating using a rich palette of colours."
It was designed by RPP Architects with Richard Murphy Architects.
House on Victoria Road, Holywood
The judges said it was a discreet family house "with almost no street presence" that had been "skilfully designed on a plot that no house builder nor developer would consider".
"The house bridges a deep cut stream with most of the accommodation on the far side, freeing up the flatter upper landscape to become a spacious family garden," they said.
"The daughter, from her bedroom, has possibly the finest views in the house of the stream below, as if the house were the setting for her own family's fairy tale of family life in Holywood."
It was designed by the firm Hall McKnight.