Shelley McNamara

Early life

McNamara attended University College, Dublin (UCD) in 1974. She is inspired by architects past and present including Eileen Gray, Flora Ruchat-Roncati, Lina Bo Bardi, Anna Heringer and Carme Pinos.

She is a fellow of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and elected member of Aosdána, the eminent Irish arts organization. McNamara is the first architect to be included in Aosdána.

Grafton Architects

Together with Yvonne Farrell, McNamara established Grafton Architects in Dublin, Ireland in 1978.

Academia

Shelley 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 has 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 Accademia d’Archittettura, Oxford Books University, Accademia di Archittettura, Mendrisio (2008- 2010), Oslo, EPFL and Lausanne (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 and the Louis Kahn Chair at Yale University in Fall 2011. She served as an external examiner at Cambridge University 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 firms 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.

Work

1. 2006: Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, Co.Meath, Ireland.
2. 2008: Waterloo Lane, Dublin 4, Ireland.
3. 2012: University of Limerick Medical School, Limerick, Ireland.
4. 2014: Memory / Grafton Architects, with the collaboration of ELISAVA for 300 Years of Catalan Spirit, Spain.
5. In progress: London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) shortlist for the new Global Centre for Social Sciences (GCSS) in London's Aldwych.
6. 2017: Curators of 2018 Venice Architecture Biennial / Grafton Architects, Italy.

Awards and Exhibitions

1. "Bocconi Projects" in the Italian Pavilion, Venice Biennale ‘Next’, 2002.
2. Dunshaughlin Civic Offices, Co. Meath, Mies van der Rohe Award - European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, 2003.
3. World Building of the Year Award, 2008 to Grafton Architects for the Universita Luigi Bocconi in Milan, Italy.
4. "Universita Luigi Bocconi" nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award in 2009.
5. Universita Luigi Bocconi, Presidents Award, RAIA, 2009.
6. Exhibited in the Irish Group Exhibition, The Lives of Spaces, Venice Biennale, 2010.
7. "Architecture as New Geography", Silver Lion Award at the Venice Biennale Common Ground Exhibition, 2012.
8. University of Limerick Medical School and Pergola Bus Shelter, Shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize, 2013.
9. University of Limerick Medical School, Student Residences, Piazza and Pergola, RIBA European Award, 2013.
10. "University of Limerick Campus" exhibited in the Sensing Spaces show at the Royal Academy.
11. Shortlisted for the 2014 AJ Women in Architecture Awards, 2014.
12. Fourth annual Jane Drew Prize, 2015.
13. Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Lima, Peru, RIBA International Prize 2016