Liam O'Connor (born 1961) is a British architect best known for designing national public memorials in the classical style.[1]
Biography
editO'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]
References
edit- ^ a b "Liam O'Connor". Art Workers' Guild. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Liam O'Connor". INTBAU. International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ Stamp, Gavin. "London: Commonwealth Gate". Twentieth Century Society. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ "Victoria Cross And George Cross - Ministry Of Defence". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ Williams, Rachel (13 October 2007). "National Armed Forces Memorial unveiled". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ "Bomber Command Memorial moves veterans". BBC News. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ "British Normandy Memorial unveiled in France to honour D-Day and Normandy fallen". BBC News. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ "Making of the Memorial". British Normandy Memorial. Retrieved 31 July 2023.