Caen stone. The cathedral is crowned by a spire of . Pugin's work was eminently suited to Ireland. A convert to Roman Catholicism, he believed Gothic architecture to be the only style suitable for religious worship and attacked the earlier Neoclassical architecture as pagan and almost blasphemous. This philosophy embraced by the church in Ireland at the time helped to popularise the Gothic style in Victorian Ireland. 20th century – present In the 20th century, Irish architecture followed the international trend towards modern, sleek and often radical building styles, particularly after Partition and the independence of most of Ireland as the Irish Free State in the early 1920s. Two major exceptions to this were the Royal College of Science for Ireland (now Government Buildings), on Upper Merrion Street in central Dublin, and Parliament Buildings at Stormont in East Belfast, both built in more traditional architectural styles. New building materials and old were utilised in new ways to maximise style, space, light and energy efficiency. 1928 saw the construction of Ireland's first all concrete Art Deco church in Turner's Cross, Cork. The building was designed by Chicago architect Barry Byrne and met with a cool reception among those more accustomed to traditional designs. In January 1940 the Art Deco Dublin airport opened, designed by Desmond FitzGerald and the Office of Public Works. In 1953, one of Ireland's most radical buildings, Bus Éireann's main Dublin terminal building, better known as Busáras was completed. It was built despite huge public opposition, excessive costs (over £1m) and even opposition from the Catholic Church. Michael Scott, its designer, is now considered one of the most important architects of the twentieth century in Ireland – however the original structure has become dilapidated and dated. One of the main proponents of modernist and Brutalist architecture in Ireland was Sam Stephenson. Stephenson designed the Civic Offices (1979) and the Central Bank of Ireland (1980), both of which generated considerable controversy at the time of their construction. In the same period, Liam McCormick designed the modernist Met Éireann headquarters in Glasnevin, Dublin (1979). In 1987, the government started to plan what is now known as the IFSC. The complex today houses over 14,000 office workers. One of the most symbolic structures of modern Irish architecture is the Spire of Dublin. Completed in January 2003, the structure was nominated in 2004 for the prestigious Stirling Prize. A significant change in