Kevin O’Brien (born 1972) is an architect practising in Queensland. He is noted for drawing on indigenous concepts of space in his work.
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Early life and education
O'Brien was born in Melbourne. He graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1995. In 2006, he studied Aboriginality and Architecture gaining a Master of Philosophy under Dr Paul Memmott.
Career
O’Brien also established Kevin O’Brien Architects (KOA) in Brisbane and has completed architectural projects throughout several states in Australia. In 2000 he travelled around the Pacific Rim as a Churchill Fellow to investigate regional construction strategies in indigenous communities.
O'Brien he directed the Finding Country Exhibition at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2012 and he was appointed as a Professor of Design at the Queensland University of Technology.
In 2014 he was a juror at the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2014 Brisbane Regional Architecture Awards.
Finding Country Exhibition (2012)
O’Brien’s "Finding Country" Exhibition, focused on the tension between concepts of City and Country in Australian context, and was exhibited at the 13th International Architecture Exhibit in Venice, Italy in 2012. A large drawing highlighting the city method of title management (by labelling places such as parks or roads), was emptied through a 50% population reduction as a way into revealing Country as something found; the exhibition developed from discussions with Michael Markham in 2005.
Archibald Street House (2012)
Construction began on the Archibald Street House in August 2009 and reached practical completion in 2011. It is a two storey residential building in Brisbane, which has a 3.5 kW solar power system that has produced enough energy to maintain a household of four. The building combines a house and a studio with a central courtyard. It is built using concrete and timber. Designed to minimise energy costs, the house efficiently uses new insulation techniques by employing water and solar collections. In order to achieve an effective energy consumption, the house was designed to make use of building orientation, ventilation access, thermal mass, insulation systems and energy-economical openings.
Woorabinda State School Library (2011)
This project began its construction in 2009, poured on site concrete tilt panels, with steel structure, and clear finished plywood linings in the interiors with the completion in 2011. It was noted as a regional commendation for public buildings. The Woollam construction team was led by Chris Battersby. In February 2013, O'Brien received the QLD Architecture Award: Central Queensland Regional Commendation.