Tomás "Tom" de Paor (; born 1967) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 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 ...

Early life

De Paor was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1967 and grew up in

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

Career

de Paor studied architecture at

TU Dublin Technological University Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) or TU Dublin is Ireland's first technological university, established on 1 January 2019, and with a history stretching back to 1887 through the amalgamated Dub ...

(1985–88) and in UCD (1989–91), where he graduated with first class honours.

Built works

In 1991 he won (with Emma O’Neill) the international competition for the design of a reception building at the Royal Gunpowder Mills at

Ballincollig Ballincollig () is a suburban town within the administrative area of Cork city in Ireland. It is located on the western side of Cork city, beside the River Lee on the R608 regional road. In 2016 it was the largest town in County Cork, at whic ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, a building which won an AAI award in 1993 and an RIAI award in 1994. Ballincollig_Royal_Gunpowder_Mills

Since then his public work has included works to the A13 in

Barking and Dagenham The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London borough in East London. It lies around 9 miles (14.4 km) east of Central London. It is an Outer London borough and the south is within the London Riverside section of the Thames Ga ...

in London (1996), the National Sculpture Factory Cork (1998), Comhdháil Naisiúnta na Gaeilge Dublin (1999), Clontarf Pumpstation and landscape (2007), Irish Aid Centre Dublin (2008),

Druid Theatre The Druid Theatre Company, referred to as Druid, is an Irish theatre company, based in Galway, Ireland. As well as touring extensively across Ireland, the company's productions have played internationally to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the ...

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

(2009) and the Landside Bar

Dublin airport Dublin Airport (Irish language, Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (Irish company), DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinsto ...

(2011).

More recently de Paor designed the Pálás cinema in

(2017), which was awarded an AAI and RIAI award for Best Cultural Building, two Irish Concrete Society awards, two Civic Trust awards and a World Architecture Award. He has also designed a number of one off houses and gardens, both urban and rural, across Ireland.

Exhibitions

In 2000 he was invited to design the inaugural Irish representation at the

Venice Architecture Biennale 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 ...

and he contributed to subsequent Irish Pavilions in 2006, 2008 and in 2010, which he co-curated. He exhibited in the international pavilion in 2010 and 2018. He represented

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in New Trends of Architecture Europe and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in 2001. In 2022 de Paor staged the retrospective exhibition ‘i see Earth: building and ground: 1991–2021’, supported by the

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ga, An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts." About It was established in 1951 by the Government of Ireland, to encour ...

, The Irish Architecture Foundation, Visual Carlow, and curated by N. Weadick. He works with Peter Maybury under the imprint Gall.

Recognition

In 2003, he was elected 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 purpose ...

and voted Young Architect of the Year by ''

Building Design Building design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licensed architect. Smaller, less complica ...

'' and Corus. In 2015 he was elected to

, and in 2017 became an International Fellow of the

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 suppl ...

, only the third Irish architect to receive that honour; he was described as "the leading Irish architect of his generation."

Teaching

He has been an invited lecturer and critic internationally, teaching at UCD since graduation and various schools including Pontificia Universidad Catolica,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, the

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

Academy, and the

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 ...

where he was Design Critic from 2016-21

Personal life

de Paor lives and works in

Greystones Greystones () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies on Ireland's east coast, south of Bray, County Wicklow, Bray and south of Dublin city centre and has a population of 18,140 (2016). The town is bordered ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

Bibliography

* ‘N3’, * ‘Circle Book’, Gall edition the Office of Public Works, at Chancery Street, Dublin. * ‘Reservoir’, Gall edition, * ‘Irlanda’, Gall edition, * ‘Of’, Gall edition, * 'desert’, the Notations series University of Ulster, Gall edition,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:de Paor, Tom 1967 births Aosdána members 20th-century Irish architects 21st-century Irish architects Alumni of University College Dublin Architects from County Clare Living people