Lorcan O'Herlihy


Biography

Lorcan O'Herlihy is an Irish architect working in Los Angeles and the founding principal of Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects . He is the son of the actor Dan O'Herlihy. O'Herlihy was educated at California Polytechnic University and the Architectural Association in London, UK.
O’Herlihy spent his formative years working as a designer and associate at Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, and at Steven Holl Architects where he was responsible for the AIA National Honor Award-winning Hybrid Building. He worked at I. M. Pei and Partners in New York and Paris on addition to the Grand Louvre Museum. The experience working on a project that harmoniously coupled art and architecture was paramount to his design philosophy and installed a passion for aesthetic improvisation and composition. In addition, O’Herlihy also worked as a painter, sculptor, and furniture maker. The breath of scales—from being part of a design team for a large public art institution like the Louvre to intimately producing art and objects—melds his inclination for material exploration and formal inflection which form the basis of his firm, Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects.
Since founding his firm in 1994, O’Herlihy has utilized architecture as a catalyst of change to shape and enrich the complex, urban landscape of the contemporary city. The work of his firm is guided by a conscious understanding that architecture operates within a layered context of political, developmental, environmental, and social structures. With studios in Los Angeles and Detroit, LOHA has built over 90 projects across three continents. The diverse work of the firm ranges from art galleries, bus shelters, and large-scale neighborhood plans, to large mixed-use developments, housing developments, and university residential complexes. Each project by LOHA exhibits O’Herlihy’s belief that artistry and bold design are key to building a vibrant, social space to elevate the human condition via the built environment.
O’Herlihy and LOHA have produced work that has been published in over 20 countries and recognized internationally with features in The New York Times, the , Wallpaper*, Metropolis, Architectural Record, Architectural Review, Architecture, Frame, Icon, Interior Design, among many more. O'Herlihy's eponymous monograph was published by Rockport Publications in 1999 and Amplified Urbanism, a publication about the firm's design philosophy, was published in 2017.
LOHA's work has received over 100 national and local design awards throughout the years including the AIA Los Angeles firm of the year. In 2004, the Architectural League of New York selected Lorcan O’Herlihy as one of the eight "emerging voices" in the United States. In 2009, O’Herlihy garnered the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects status. O’Herlihy has been nominated for the 2014 American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Architecture, the 2019 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, and the 2018 Marcus Prize in Architecture. In 2018, Lorcan received the AIACC Distinguished Practice Award and his firm LOHA was ranked the #1 Design Firm in the Country by Architect Magazine’s ARCHITECT50, an annual ranking of architecture firms in the United States.
Academic and intellectual pursuits are integral and ongoing pursuits within O’Herlihy’s professional design practice. He has taught and lectured extensively throughout his career at notable institutions including: the Architectural Association; University of California, Los Angeles; Southern California Institute of Architecture; Cranbrook Academy of Art; Columbia University; Pratt Institute; Carnegie Mellon University; and the National Building Museum. Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California. He is a licensed architect in California, Michigan, Florida and North Carolina and is a GSA Design Excellence Program Peer.

Design Philosophy

Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects is an internationally recognized design firm that engages the ever-changing complexities of the urban landscape, embracing architecture’s role as a catalyst for change. With a conscious understanding that architecture operates within a layered context of political, developmental, environmental, and social structures, LOHA seeks to elevate the human condition via the built environment. The social and collaborative nature of their work, demonstrates a commitment to designing spaces that encourage and promote human interaction. With over two decades of experience, LOHA's projects shape the urban environment, provide essential housing, and enrich society with spaces that support and facilitate culture and community.
Driven by ruthless optimism and creative pragmatism, it is Lorcan's belief that bold, enlightened design elevates the soul and enriches communities. LOHA crafts distinctive, sustainable, elegantly-resolved designs that not only meet the needs of their clients, but also respond to broader civic and social ambitions. In their commitment to consider architecture’s impact on the social condition, LOHA developed a distinct approach as a guiding philosophy and method for the firm: Amplified Urbanism. As a strategy, Amplified Urbanism seeks to reimagine the creative interaction between public and private spaces, emphasize social and civic connections, and work within existing ecological and infrastructural patterns to cultivate vibrant communities.
LOHA's work is developed around three main design tenants—Activated Edges, Strategic Voids, and Bold Materiality—that are founded on the belief that architecture should be a transformative action. With each project LOHA considers how the site, form, and material decisions can radiate far beyond a structure’s immediate boundaries to foster positive impacts, redefine broader communities, and transform the city.

Projects