Liam O'Connor (architect)

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Liam O'Connor (born 1961) is a British architect best known for designing national public memorials in the classical style. [1]

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Biography

O'Connor established his own practice, Liam O’Connor Architects and Planning Consultants, in 1989. [2] In 1992 he won a European prize for his design of three buildings as part of a new urban block development in the centre of Brussels. [2] In 1992, O’Connor received the first prize for his masterplan on the redevelopment of the area around the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. [2] Between 1995 and 1997 he was a special adviser for architecture and urban design to John Gummer during his tenure as Secretary of State for the Environment. [2]

In 1999 he won the international competition to design the Memorial Gates, London, which were inaugurated by Elizabeth II in 2002. [3] In 2004, O'Connor was the architect for the Victoria Cross and George Cross Memorial at the Ministry of Defence Main Building in London. [4] The same year he entered the winning design for the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, which was official dedicated in a ceremony led by Elizabeth II on 12 October 2007. [5] O'Connor subsequently designed the RAF Bomber Command Memorial, which was unveiled by Elizabeth II in 2012 during her Diamond Jubilee year. [6] O'Connor was commissioned to design the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, France, which was formally inaugurated on 6 June 2019 by British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron. [7] [8]

O'Connor is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Art Workers' Guild and INTBAU, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. [1] [2] He was previously an adjunct professor in architecture at the University of Notre Dame. [2] In addition to memorials, he has designed numerous residential and commercial buildings. [2]

Although Mr. O'Connor is a jus solis British citizen being born in London, he is also a jus sanguinis Irish citizen, with both of his parents being from the Republic of Ireland.[ citation needed ]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Liam O'Connor". Art Workers' Guild. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Liam O'Connor". INTBAU. International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  3. Stamp, Gavin. "London: Commonwealth Gate". Twentieth Century Society. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  4. "Victoria Cross And George Cross - Ministry Of Defence". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  5. Williams, Rachel (13 October 2007). "National Armed Forces Memorial unveiled". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  6. "Bomber Command Memorial moves veterans". BBC News. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  7. "British Normandy Memorial unveiled in France to honour D-Day and Normandy fallen". BBC News. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  8. "Making of the Memorial". British Normandy Memorial. Retrieved 31 July 2023.