Tomás "Tom" de Paor FRIAI Int FRIBA (/də ˈpwr/; born 1967)[1] is an Irish architect[2] and member of Aosdána.[1]

N3, the inaugural Irish pavilion for the Venice biennale (2000)

Early life

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De Paor was born in London in 1967 and grew up in County Clare.[1]

Career

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de Paor studied architecture at TU Dublin (1985–88) and in UCD (1989–91), where he graduated with first-class honours.

Built works

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In 1991 he won (with Emma O’Neill) the international competition for the design of a reception building at the Royal Gunpowder Mills at Ballincollig, County Cork, a building which won an AAI award in 1993 and an RIAI award in 1994.[3]

 
Gatehouse, Royal Gunpowder Mills, Ballincollig. (1993)

Since then his public work has included works to the A13 in Barking and Dagenham in London (1996),[3][4] the National Sculpture Factory Cork (1998),[5][6] Comhdháil Naisiúnta na Gaeilge Dublin (1999),[6] Clontarf Pumpstation and landscape (2007),[3][4] Irish Aid Centre Dublin (2008),[4][7] Druid Theatre Galway (2009)[8] and the Landside Bar Dublin airport (2011).

 
Pumpstation and streetscape, Clontarf. (2007)

More recently de Paor designed the Pálás cinema in Galway (2017), which was awarded an AAI and RIAI award for Best Cultural Building, two Irish Concrete Society awards, two Civic Trust awards and a World Architecture Award.[9][10][11] He has also designed a number of one-off houses and gardens, both urban and rural, across Ireland.[12][13][14]

 
Pálás Cinema, Galway. (2017)

Exhibitions

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In 2000 he was invited to design the inaugural Irish representation at the Venice Architecture Biennale[4][15][16][17] and he contributed to subsequent Irish Pavilions in 2006, 2008 and in 2010, which he co-curated.[15][18][19] He exhibited in the international pavilion in 2010 and 2018.[19] He represented Europe in New Trends of Architecture Europe and Japan in 2001.[20]

In 2022 de Paor staged the retrospective exhibition ‘i see Earth: building and ground: 1991–2021’, supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, The Irish Architecture Foundation, Visual Carlow, and curated by N. Weadick.[21] He works with Peter Maybury under the imprint Gall.[22]

 
‘i see Earth: Building and ground: 1991-2021', Carlow VISUAL (2022)

Recognition

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In 2003, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland and voted Young Architect of the Year by Building Design and Corus.[4] In 2015 he was elected to Aosdána, and in 2017 became an International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, only the third Irish architect to receive that honour; he was described as "the leading Irish architect of his generation".[16]

Teaching

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He has been an invited lecturer and critic internationally, teaching at UCD since graduation and various schools including Pontificia Universidad Catolica, Santiago, Chile, the Porto Academy, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design where he was Design Critic from 2016-21[19]

Personal life

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de Paor lives and works in Greystones,County Wicklow.[1]

Bibliography

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  • ‘N3’, ISBN 978-0-9540422-0-2
  • ‘Circle Book’, Gall edition the Office of Public Works, at Chancery Street, Dublin.
  • ‘Reservoir’, Gall edition, ISBN 978-0-9566293-1-9
  • ‘Irlanda’, Gall edition, ISBN 978-0-9566293-0-2
  • ‘Of’, Gall edition, ISBN 978-0-9566293-2-6
  • 'desert’, the Notations series University of Ulster, Gall edition, ISBN 978-0-9566293-5-7

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Aosdána". aosdana.artscouncil.ie.
  2. ^ Carragáin, Tomás Ó (26 December 2010). Churches in Early Medieval Ireland: Architecture, Ritual and Memory. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-15444-3 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c Wilfreid., Becker, Annette. Olley, John. Wang (1977). Ireland : 20th. Century Architecture. Prestel. OCLC 868617727.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b c d e Lappin, Sarah A. (23 September 2009). Full Irish: New Architecture in Ireland. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1-56898-868-9 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Ó Muirí, Seán Antóin (2015). Irish Architecture, 200+ Buildings since 1990. Cork: Gandon Editions.
  6. ^ a b "Soft shell: Tomas de Paor's interlocking moves". Building Design. Supplement: 15. 17 March 2000.
  7. ^ Sean, Antoin Ó Muirí (2014). Dublin Architecture : 150+ buildings since 1990. Gandon Editions. ISBN 978-0-948037-58-0. OCLC 905831766.
  8. ^ Seán, Antóin Ó Muirí (2015). Irish Architecture, 200+ Buildings since 1990. Cork: Gandon Editions. ISBN 978-0-948037-59-7.
  9. ^ Zarzycki, Lili (17 June 2019). "Wild west: Pálás cinema in Galway, Ireland by dePaor". Architectural Review. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  10. ^ Heathcote, Edwin (25 July 2018). "The Pálás in Galway: seduced by a glowing picture palace". Financial Times. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  11. ^ Tuomey, John (October 2018). "Tower House". Architecture Ireland. 301: 49.
  12. ^ Bell, Jonathan; Stathaki, Ellie (2010). The new modern house: redefining functionalism. London: Laurence King. ISBN 978-1-85669-684-5.
  13. ^ Scanlon, Emmett (2005). "Double House in Dublin, de Paor Architects". A10 - new European architecture (5).
  14. ^ O'Toole, Shane (14 July 2006). "His dark materials". Building Design (1730).
  15. ^ a b Campbell, Hugh. "Modern Ireland in 100 Artworks: 2000 – N3, by Tom de Paor". The Irish Times.
  16. ^ a b Magan, Manchan. "Tom de Paor: 'A door should be a door, but also much more'". The Irish Times.
  17. ^ Gissen, David (7 October 2009). Subnature: Architecture's Other Environments. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1-56898-777-4 – via Google Books.
  18. ^ The lives of spaces : [Ireland's participation at the 11th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice 2008. Hugh Campbell, Irish Architecture Foundation, Dublin University College, International Architectural Exhibition. [Dublin]: IAF. 2008. ISBN 978-1-905254-35-4. OCLC 641548464.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  19. ^ a b c Editors, A. R. (21 November 2019). "Imagined Ireland: Tom de Paor in conversation with the AR". Architectural Review. Retrieved 28 January 2022. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  20. ^ "Tom de Paor: Young Architect of the Year, 2003 | Archiseek - Irish Architecture". 16 March 2003. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  21. ^ "Tom dePaor, i see Earth, VISUAL Carlow, 26 February–22 May, 2022 – Paper Visual Art". papervisualart.com. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  22. ^ "Tom dePaor, i see Earth, VISUAL Carlow, 26 February–22 May, 2022 – Paper Visual Art". papervisualart.com. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
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