Shelley McNamara (born 1952) is an Irish

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

. She attended University College Dublin and graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Architecture. She founded Grafton Architects with Yvonne Farrell in 1978. Grafton rose to prominence in the early 2010s, specialising in stark, weighty but spacious buildings for higher education. McNamara has taught architecture at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 students ...

since 1976 and at several other universities. The Grafton practice was awarded the 2020

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

Royal Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...

and their building for the Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología in Lima, Peru, was awarded the 2016

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

International Prize, as the best new building in the world that year. In 2021, the practice was awarded the RIBA

Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The S ...

for the Town House building of

Kingston University Kingston University London is a Public university, public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South London, South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded in 1 ...

. McNamara and Farrell shared the 2020

Pritzker Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...

, architecture's highest award.

Career

Grafton Architects

Together with Yvonne Farrell, McNamara established Grafton Architects in Dublin in 1978, naming it after

Grafton Street Grafton Street () is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre (the other being Henry Street). It runs from St Stephen's Green in the south (at the highest point of the street) to College Green in the north (the lowest ...

in the city. , the practice employed 25 people, with McNamara and Farrell leading the designs. They use weighty materials, including stone and concrete, to form spacious buildings which encourage interactions between people. McNamara described her approach to architecture as "rather than thinking of a space and then finding a structure for it, we make a structure and that, in turn, makes a space" and "the enjoyment in architecture is the sense of weight being borne down or supported". The pair have specialised in buildings for higher education, having designed buildings for universities in Toulouse, Limerick, London and others. These include teaching buildings,

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

s, and

student accommodation A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

. They drew international attention with a building for

Bocconi University Bocconi University ( it, Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, ) is a private university in Milan, Italy. Bocconi provides education in the fields of economics, finance, law, management, political science, public administration and compute ...

in Milan, which was completed in 2008. Their most celebrated building was for the Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología in Peru, which won the

International Prize in 2016, as the best new building in the world that year. The practice has also produced dozens of buildings in Ireland, for residential and commercial purposes as well as higher education.

Academia

McNamara has worked as a studio lecturer at the School of Architecture in UCD since 1976. Shortly after graduating from University College, Dublin, McNamara began teaching at the school along with Yvonne Farrell, where she taught consistently between 1976 and 2002. In 2015, McNamara became an adjunct professor at UCD. In addition to UCD, McNamara has been a visiting professor at

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was named ...

Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio The Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio (AAM) is a Swiss school of architecture and is a founding unit of Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). History The Accademia was founded by Mario Botta, whose influences were Kenneth Frampton, ...

(2008– 2010), Oslo, and the

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sav ...

(2010–2011). She became a full professor at Mendrisio in 2013. In 2010, McNamara held the Kenzo Tange Chair at

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban ...

and the Louis Kahn Chair at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

in Fall 2011. She served as an external examiner at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and The London Metropolitan School of Architecture. In addition to teaching, McNamara has lectured widely in European and American Schools of Architecture.

Publications

McNamara, together with Yvonne Farrell, published the book ''Dialogue and Translation: Grafton Architects'' in 2014. This book comprises the firm's work, architectural musings and a collection of lectures delivered at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. It includes a critical commentary from

Kenneth Frampton Kenneth Brian Frampton (born 20 November 1930) is a British architect, critic and historian. He is the Ware Professor of Architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University, New York. He has be ...

Personal life

McNamara's older brother is the property developer, Bernard McNamara.

Major works

* 2006: Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, Co.Meath, Ireland. * 2008: Waterloo Lane Mews, Dublin 4, Ireland. *2008: Drogheda Fire and Rescue Services Station, Drogheda, Ireland * 2012: University of Limerick Medical School, Limerick, Ireland. * 2014: Memory / Grafton Architects, with the collaboration of ELISAVA for 300 Years of Catalan Spirit, Spain. * In progress:

London School of Economics and Political Science , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

(LSE) shortlist for the new Global Centre for Social Sciences (GCSS) in London's Aldwych. *2015: University Campus UTEC Lima, Peru *2016: Competition Winner for The Paul Marshall Building - London School of Economics 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, United Kingdom *2018: Curators of 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale FREESPACE / Grafton Architects, Italy. *2019: Université Toulouse 1 Capitole Toulouse, France *2020: Kingston University Town House *2021: ESB Headquarters, Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2

Awards and exhibitions

* World Building of the Year Award, 2008 to Grafton Architects for the

building in Milan, Italy. * "Architecture as New Geography", Silver Lion Award at the Venice Biennale Common Ground Exhibition, 2012. * University of Limerick Medical School and Pergola Bus Shelter, Shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize, 2013. * "University of Limerick Campus" exhibited in the Sensing Spaces show at the Royal Academy. * Shortlisted for the 2014 AJ Women in Architecture Awards, 2014. * Grafton Architects won the fourth annual

Jane Drew Prize The Jane Drew Prize is an architecture award given annually by the ''Architects' Journal'' to a person showing innovation, diversity and inclusiveness in architecture. It is named after the English modernist architect Jane Drew. Background The Ja ...

, 2015, for their "massive influence" on the profession. *

International Prize, 2016, for the Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Lima, Peru,. * Appointed as curator of the 16th

Venice Biennale of Architecture Venice Biennale of Architecture (in Italian Mostra di Architettura di Venezia) is an international exhibition of architecture from nations around the world, held in Venice, Italy, every other year. It was held on even years until 2018, but 202 ...

in 2018. * Honorary doctorate from

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, 2019. *

Pritzker Architecture Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...

winner in 2020, shared with Farrell. * The Daylight Award 2022, Daylight in architecture laurate, shared with Yvonne Farrell * UCD Alumni Award for Architecture 2015 McNamara is a fellow of the

Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland ( ga, Institiúid Ríoga Ailtirí na hÉireann) founded in 1839, is the "competent authority for architects and professional body for Architecture in the Republic of Ireland." The RIAI's purpos ...

and an Honorary Fellow of the

. She was the first architect to be elected a member of

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...

, an association of Irish artists.

References

External links

Shelley McNamara on DesignBoom

Grafton Architects
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Shelley 1952 births 20th-century Irish architects 21st-century architects Aosdána members Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects Irish women architects Living people Pritzker Architecture Prize winners People from County Clare Alumni of University College Dublin Academics of University College Dublin