Jason O'Shaughnessy

Jason is the Professor of Architecture in UCC and holds a PhD in Architecture from The University of Edinburgh. He graduated with Distinction from The University of Edinburgh and from Queen’s University of Belfast with First Class Honours. He is currently Director at Cork Centre for Architectural Education (UCC/MTU), Director of Teaching & Learning, MArch Programme Director, and Joint Programme Director of the MSc “Re-designing the Post-Industrial City.” 

He is an active member of the RIAI and sits on the Board of Architectural Education (BAE) and on the Steering Group of the HCI Project ‘Building Change: Designing a Resilient Future through Architecture Education.’ His research is intersectional – focused on developing new research practices exploring socio-cultural possibilities through speculative design methodologies, and leads a number of EU funded research projects including ‘BAUHAUS Goes North’ (2023). His students have won a number of prestigious awards most notably including Winning, Finalist, and Shortlisted projects at the EUMies “Young Talent in Architecture Award” 2023, the RIBA President’s Silver Medal “Serjeant Prize” 2021, and the EAAE Best Diploma Project [Innovation] 2016, while a number of his students were selected for exhibition as part of the “Visionaries” Exhibition at the Lisbon Triennale ‘TERRA’ (2022).   

He has been twice nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – the EUMies Award - in 2009 and 2020 – and was a finalist for the BD Young Architect of the Year in 2008 and 2016. He was awarded the Edinburgh Civic Medal (1999) and first place in the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) Graduate Awards for Architecture (1999), and chosen for Building Design "Class of 1999" which showcased the best Architecture graduates across the UK. He has received several other Architecture Awards including a Special Commendation at the inaugural World Architecture Festival in Barcelona (2008), an AAI Special Award (2008), and a number of AAI and RIAI Awards and Commendations. He has been an Exhibition Curator of Graduate works at Architecture at the Edge (2023), the Lisbon Triennale (2022), Athens Biennale (2017), Tallinn Architecture Biennale (2013), and Istanbul Design Week (2013).    

He is a Reviewer for a number of Architectural Prizes including the EUMies Young Talent in Architecture, George Moore Scholarship, Arts Council Architecture Awards and a Reviewer for DMJournal–Architecture and Representation, Architectural Theory Review, and Arts Cabinet UK. He has been an invited critic at a number of Schools of Architecture including: The Bartlett, UCL, TU Delft, The Mackintosh School of Architecture, The University of Edinburgh, University College Dublin, The Queen's University of Belfast, University of Ulster, University of Limerick, and The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture. He has lectured extensively on his research in architecture – while most notably Keynote Speaker at: “Bauhaus Futures/ Bauhaus Presences” (2022), “Re-appropriation and Representation” (2020), the Andrew Carnegie PhD Symposium at the University of Edinburgh (2014), and the Showcase Lecture at the European Architecture Student Assembly along with Pritzker Prize Laureates Grafton Architects (2008). His essay "John Hejduk and Samuel Beckett: Going on, in Silence and Lateness" was published in "The Place of Silence: Architecture / Media / Philosophy,” Bloomsbury Publishing (2020), and his forthcoming book “John Hejduk and the question of Lateness: Critical Readings Through Samuel Beckett” is expected to be published in 2027.

My research is intersectional and has contributed to the critical development of Architectural practice, research, and learning over the past 25 years. My research is interested in the critical engagement and problematics of emerging social, environmental, and ecological issues that define the way society in the 21st century now operates - critiquing how these issues impact the cities and places we occupy. Notwithstanding exemplary achievements within individual fields of practice, and as I understand it, there is an urgent need to respond to emerging social, environmental, and ecological issues through cross-disciplinary and intermodal intelligences. I believe this can be achieved the developing new agile practices and interdisciplinary collaborations – facilitating transfer of knowledge beyond the traditional academic sphere.

I have delivered several Keynote Conference Proceedings in the last 5-years including: [re] JOHN HEJDUK: [re] appropriation of the angelic orders and other mid-air matters in the Research-by-Design Symposium in The University of Edinburgh (2020); BAUHAUS Futures/ BAUHAUS Presences Symposium and Book Launch of ‘Bauhaus Effects in Art, Architecture, and Design (UCC, 2022); ‘Excursus into the city and some creative fusions’ in “New European Borderlands” Symposium, TU Delft (2019). I have earned multiple accolades for sustained excellence and impactful contributions to design-based research in Architecture and design-based research has received several distinguished awards - which include being twice nominated for the prestigious Mies van der Rohe: European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in 2022 and 2009; finalist for the BD Young Architect of the Year in 2008 and 2016; Special Commendation at the inaugural World Architecture Festival in Barcelona (2008); AAI Special Award (2008) several RIAI Awards and Commendations; and has been presented at distinguished forum including the Andrew Carnegie PhD Symposium at the University of Edinburgh (2014), the Institute Cervantes and AAI “Fresh-air-kitecture” Lecture Series in conversation with Victoria Acebo of AceboXAlonso (2009), and the Showcase Lecture at the European Architecture Student Assembly [EASA] along with Pritzker Prize Laureates Grafton Architects (2008). It also includes design-based outputs in the form of design competitions; design/curation of international exhibitions including the Athens Biennale (2017), Istanbul Design Week (2013), Tallinn Architecture Biennale (2013), and I have been invited as a Keynote speaker at “Re-appropriation and Representation” Symposium (2020), the Athens Biennale (2017), EASA Assembly (2008). I have consistently achieved excellence in advancing and applying architectural knowledge and have (1) acted as Editorial Reviewer for several International Journals including; D-M Journal (Drawing Matter), UK; Architectural Theory Review (Taylor & Francis Publications), UK; (3) Doctoral-level Reviewer, ARENA [European Architecture Research Network Alliance]; (4) Assessor for Arts Council of Ireland: Architecture Research Project Award (2023), (5) acted as Guest Editor in CURRENT IRELAND Zoomcast Series on new Architectural Research in Ireland (2020).

I jointly led the organisation and critical review process for the International Conference “The Place of Silence” (2017) – which featured the acclaimed theorists Anthony Vidler, Mark Dorrian, Gernot Böhme and Paul Carter. From these proceedings, my essay "John Hejduk and Samuel Beckett: Going on, in Silence and Lateness" – was published in the book "The Place of Silence: Architecture / Media / Philosophy,” Bloomsbury Publishing (2020). A related book - “John Hejduk and Samuel Beckett and The Question of Lateness” is expected to be published by Routledge (2027).

As Chair of the Research Committee in CCAE, As Chair of Research in Architecture (CCAE), I have designed and implemented comprehensive research strategies which foster innovation and academic rigor around design-based and impact-based research. I am committed to mentoring early-career researchers and doctoral candidates, helping them develop skills in project management, publication, and external engagement. I have consistently secured external funding, translating ambitious research ideas into funded projects with tangible results that advances both architectural knowledge while also delivering meaningful contributions to contemporary societal challenges that are aligned with UCC’s mission of research with impact. 

I currently lead 2 Interreg NPA projects - ‘BAUHAUS Goes North’ (2024) and ‘HYBES’ (2022). The relationships forged in the UNIC Alliance have allowed me to collaborate with interdisciplinary teams on three large EU Grants - DUCHER, 2023 (€372,650)/ ARCHINEB, 2022 (€635,440)/ RePIC EMJM, 2022 (€5,484,000) -  and, through the upcoming new MSCA Doctoral Network proposal with UNIC Partners (€3,000,000) to push the boundary of what collaborative interdisciplinary research can achieve both in shaping academic discourse and leading to new thinking around sustainable urban futures and reflect my interest in operating at the disciplinary intersections. 

I have strong interest in teaching and conceptualising architectural design as well as the associated area of design-based research. In the teaching environment, I believe synergies in these fields lead to the development of studio culture that values the development of critical and innovative architectural design where I encourage the development of didactic teaching practices – aiding the learner in the way they negotiate their creative learning processes. I consider this mode of teaching as a form of collaborative research with the potentiality to generate acts of critical thinking and modes of making (drawings/artefacts etc) – and which ultimately challenge any notion of severance between design exploration and design conceptualisation. 

I have created signature areas of excellence and Student esteem through national and international awards and exhibitions in relation to Master of Architecture (e.g. EUMies Young Talent Winner 2023; Winner of RIBA Silver Medals “Serjeant Prize”, 2021; EAAE Best Diploma Project in Architecture, 2016), and also includes supported making the student voice audible by managing the exhibition of student works from all 5-years at the RIAI & Building Expo in the RDS as part of the HCI Project “Building Change: Designing a Resilient Future through Architecture Education.” 

I have designed, developed, and implemented curricula that blend theoretical foundations with practical applications – which include first Taught Master in Architecture in Ireland (2011) and the Joint- MSc RePIC Course, the first Programme in UCC and Ireland to be Accredited via "European Approach."  This includes securing national Teaching Award on the transdisciplinary MSc RePIC Programme and securing ‘Best Master’s Programme – Science, Technology and Built Environment’ at the Education Awards 2025, while also securing the ERASMUS Mundus Joint Master funding (€5,484,000).

In my teaching, I have fostered a cultural environment around the discipline of architecture that supports a sense of wider participation, involvement, and learning; one that provokes new readings in the field of architecture whilst at the same time supports and develops the learner’s experience. I have established a distinctive, progressive, and critical architectural culture within my teaching practices. This extends into all areas of my teaching environment - from studio-based courses to lectures and wider contributions. I believe these practices have defined new spatial, material and cultural potentialities for those environments and living systems we occupy. Of importance for the learner, is how they begin to extend their design research potential through developing parallel modes of critical practice which include the making and writing of architectural research. The demand must be that the learner is sufficiently capable of defining new spatial and material potentials, and at the same time, feels supported in the use of new and experimental modes of practices such that they attain sociological and cultural approached towards urban dynamics and actors, while understanding major local and global historical developments impacting different urban and peri-urban contexts. 

Recognised for communicating complex architectural ideas clearly and inspiring curiosity and critical thinking among students, my aim is to ensure that graduates at all levels are prepared for both professional practice as well as being capable of leadership and innovation in addressing complex global challenges. My objective in teaching is to cultivate architects and designers who are both critically reflective and socially responsive and responsible - capable of navigating the complexities of the Anthropocene with creativity, ethical responsibility, and collaborative skills. I employ an iterative, studio-based pedagogy complemented by seminar discussions - fostering both individual design authorship and collective problem-solving. Engagement with communities, industry partners, and interdisciplinary peers is embedded within the learning process, enabling students to address real-world spatial and environmental challenges while developing robust professional competencies. 

I have Actively taught across both the Undergraduate (BSc Hons. Arch) and Postgraduate Programmes in Architecture, including the MArch/ MSc RePIC/ MSc Res/ PhD Programme, and have designed and developed innovative Programmes that inspire and engage students and ensured that students have acquired distinct sets of skills using impact-by-design methodologies. My teaching integrates research-led design practice with critical theoretical exploration, where students actively interrogate architecture’s cultural, social, and environmental roles. In supervising postgraduate and doctoral students, I provide mentorship that combines rigorous scholarly guidance with personal support, helping students navigate their research journeys while developing skills in critical analysis, communication, and professional practice. I continue to supervise and mentor MRes and PhD candidates – some of whom have secured prestigious awards such as the Fulbright Irish Student Award and the NUI Travelling Doctoral Scholarship.