A lot of my experience comes from renovating two stone cottages for myself. The thatched cottage, my home, was recognised as a labour of love on the first season of ‘Home of the Year’- see extracts from Home of The Year . Additionally I gained experience in the design, construction and project management of large commercial projects working in larger architectural practices such as Murray O’Laoire Architects, Limerick in 2005.

Experience from smaller practices also came from collaborating with my architect dad in O’Neill Consulting , where we worked on a wide range of housing projects. My dad is retired now but shares his experience in my practice and is my back-up team and sounding board. For my architectural training I chose to go to the Stuttgart Academy of Arts, Germany because of its focus on the artistic and creative side of architecture.

Part of my university studies included a project with architect Prof. Lebbeus Woods in New York City in the year of 1993 who expanded my creative thinking even further. After graduating two years later I received grants and scholarships for the following five years to develop a method of architecture where the natural environment is part of the initial design process, this is recorded in the publication Placing Architecture, Landscape + Art = Architecture.

In my current practice this translates to the focus on connecting the interior of a building with the exterior. We help our clients take full advantage of their entire site, its environment and orientation. This naturally leads to energy conscious and sustainable design solutions.