In this episode of Talking Practice, host Grace La interviews Sheila O’Donnell, architect, educator and co-founder of O’Donnell + Tuomey.

Sheila reflects on the creation of O’Donnell + Tuomey, the practice she formed with John Tuomey in 1988. She traces the evolution of her practice through the workings of Group 91 and shares her insights on how their collective energy reshaped Dublin’s Temple Bar District.  She discusses how context fundamentally influences her design approach and the professional opportunities that opened for many of Ireland’s most successful practitioners.

Sheila describes the collaborative spirit within her firm, the challenge of competing against large corporate offices, and the creative benefits that a smaller, design-focused team offers its clients. She explores the evolving conversation around sustainability and material choice, offering a grounded yet optimistic view on how contemporary practices navigate design, context, and climate responsibility. The podcast highlights the early significance of working with existing buildings and honing an acute attention to context — characteristics that have become central themes of O’Donnell + Tuomey’s practice.

For more on Sheila O’Donnell, check out her GSD Department of Architecture lecture – “Conversations with Place.”  

Sheila O’Donnell established O’Donnell + Tuomey with John Tuomey in 1988. O’Donnell + Tuomey’s work is developed in the spirit of architectural, social and cultural investigation. The practice has been commissioned with a variety of work, including renowned projects such as the Photographers’ Gallery and LSE Student Centre, a new museum for the V&A and a dance theatre and academy for Sadler’s Wells. She is an Honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects. In 2009 she was elected a member of Aosdána, an affiliation of Irish Artists. In 2015 she was joint recipient with John Tuomey of the RIBA Royal Gold Medal and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Brunner Prize, both awarded in recognition of a lifetimes work.  Sheila has been a lecturer in Architectural design in UCD since 1981 and a Professor since 2016. She has taught and lectured at schools of Architecture in Europe, Japan and the USA, including Harvard GSD, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, among others.

Developed by Harvard Graduate School of Design, Talking Practice is the first podcast series to feature in-depth interviews with leading designers on the ways in which architects, landscape architects, designers, and planners articulate design imagination through practice. Hosted by Grace La, Professor of Architecture and Principal of LA DALLMAN, these dynamic conversations provide a rare glimpse into the work, experiences, and attitudes of design practitioners from around the world. Comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely, Talking Practice tells the story of what designers do, why, and how they do it—exploring the key issues at stake in practice today.

Talking Practice is produced and edited by Maggie Janik. Our Research Assistant is Victor Ohene.

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