A Universal Right: Pritzker Laureates Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara on the Fundamentals of Architecture, Building Bit by Bit, and Friendship
Yvonne and Shelley at Dublin Castle, portrait by Ste Murray.
By Julia Gamolina
Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara co-founded Grafton Architects in 1978 having graduated from University College Dublin in 1974. They are Fellows of the RIAI, International Honorary Fellows of the RIBA and elected members of Aosdána, the eminent Irish Art organisation. Teaching at the School of Architecture at University College Dublin from 1976 to 2002, they were appointed Adjunct Professors at UCD in 2015. They have been Visiting Professors at EPFL, Lausanne from 2010 – 2011. They held the Kenzo Tange Chair at GSD Harvard in 2010 and the Louis Kahn chair at Yale in the Autumn of 2011. Currently, they are Professors at the Accademia di Archittettura, Mendrisio, Switzerland.
In 2018, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara were the Curators of the Venice Architecture Biennale. Their manifesto : Freespace was the title of the Biennale. In their conversation with Julia Gamolina, Yvonne and Shelley talk about building their firm bit by bit, the fundamentals of architecture, and the collective nature of our field, advising young architects to nurture their true friendships.
JG: I couldn’t be more excited to speak with you both. We’ll start at the very beginning - how did the interest in architecture develop for each of you?
SM: My interest in architecture began because I come from a family of builders. We had a builder’s yard and workshop around our house. I thought architecture would be an interesting thing to do, having seen the process and the collaborative nature of making buildings. I really just tried it off of a hunch. I had no idea what it would lead to.
YF: I was recently thinking that my mother was pregnant with me when they were designing a house together with my father’s brother. When I was born, not that I would’ve noticed when I was that age [laughs], but the house that I was in had no insulation, was made of limestone...somehow those early spatial memories stand out for me. Then at school, loving math, and art, and English, I looked for a profession that would intertwine those very things. Architecture really is such a complex discipline and a fluid combination of so much.
“Finding that thing in a project that unlocks some kind of mystery...you could work from a sketch and discover a whole world inside of it. Once you do that, hit that kind of nerve, you’re hooked. ”
What were the biggest takeaways for each of you from studying architecture?
SM: Finding that thing in a project that unlocks some kind of mystery, and takes you into a world much bigger than you. I found that amazing, that with just a few more drawings, something would emerge or be solved. You could work from a sketch and discover a whole world inside of it. Once you do that, hit that kind of nerve, you’re hooked.
YF: The lesson for me was that my time in architecture school was a combination of interesting professors, but also interesting colleagues. Shelley and I studied together in college, and there were others who were part of our daily head scratching, not knowing what to do and then being successful. We had a particularly brilliant group of teachers too, and we learned about the relationships between ideas, places, drawings, and people.
The biggest lesson was that you learn that your colleagues each have a different response to a situation, to a studio prompt. Through that, you’re trying to develop judgement and a critical mind toward it all. The studio is a very important environment, because you’re all together and building friendships, but also watching other modus operandi in action.
Town House, Kingston University London. Photography by Dennis Gilbert.
Town House, Kingston University London. Photography by Alice Clancy
How did Grafton Architects come about after the two of you studied together?
SM: We started in 1977, just a few years after we finished college. Two of our colleagues went to Paris to work, and Yvonne and I went to London. A few years later we came back to Dublin, and set up our office. Yvonne found a studio that she wanted to live in, and we thought it would also make a fantastic office [laughs]. So we made that flat into our headquarters, and set up shop without really having any work. We were just full of passion, enthusiasm, and energy. You couldn’t do it now because of the legal responsibility of architects, and back then we knew virtually nothing, but we figured it out.
YF: Shelley describes our experience in terms of the innocence and naivete of youth, but we also were trying to find a way of working as professionals. It didn’t suit us to fracture and each be working at a different office, so we decided to pool our resources and work on any projects that came along.
People were really kind to us! I remember renting a space from a professor of ours at a certain point, when we were setting off, and there were a lot of things we tried along the way. Before our studio on Grafton street, we worked at one of Shell’s places - we were nomads, not being one-hundred percent sure of where we were going. We didn’t have any kind of ten-year plan about where we were going to pitch our tent [laughs], so for your younger audience, I want to say that it’s not like you know exactly what you’re going to do when you’re young. Life is like skiing down a double black diamond slope - and you just go with it!
SM: It was very interesting Julia, because one of our professors in architecture school in Dublin gave four of us teaching jobs. So that was fantastic because that meant that while we were figuring out our practice, there was some structure to our lives and some financial support. Let’s just say that we didn’t have a business plan [laughs].
“We were focused on really tiny projects in the city...we were faced with the reality of architecture, the construction, the making. In those days, you could build cheaply, which was a good lesson because we’ve been through three recessions.”
I hear a few of these things a lot! Both the teaching to support a young creative practice, but also the lack of a ten-year plan and following your interests. I think those are both really healthy lessons. From those early years until now, how has Grafton Architects evolved?
SM: We started first as five partners, and then there were the two of us, for various reasons, personal and otherwise. We were doing small work at first, houses and house extensions, and then we had the opportunity to do a small school project, which was really important work. This was when the department of education gave architects really creative projects to do, which may not be the case anymore.
Then in 1991, we set up another collaboration which helped us all - Group 91. This was a group of us Irish architects, which came together to produce an exhibition for Dublin as a European city of culture. We made an exhibition on how to build a contemporary street, an 18th century street in Dublin, which reinvented it. This exhibition was a huge amount of work, and then the government announced a competition for the regeneration of the whole inner city corridor in Dublin. We were magically shortlisted for that competition!
We were up against major commercial firms in Dublin, and from abroad, and our collective of Group 91 won the competition! That was magic really, because it catapulted each of our architectural practices into another sphere of work, but it was also an approach to a regeneration of cities. We were influenced by the work being done in Barcelona, where the idea of urban acupuncture was being put to use. The attitude we took in Dublin was not to demolish anything, but to approach the project from the point of view of addition and not subtraction. That was a turning point for us all in this collaborative.
YF: Going back even further Julia, we were focused on really tiny projects in the city, which was really interesting! We were faced with the reality of architecture, the construction, the making. In those days, you could build cheaply, which was a good lesson because we’ve been through three recessions, and now COVID. But architecture is so connected to the industry of building, and is vulnerable in that way, and what has grown over these many years for us is the real belief that architecture matters, and that architecture is truly a cultural phenomenon. Yes, it’s the business of building, but it has this other very rare component. If you never saw a painting, or never read a book, you would go on with your life, but architecture is literally the thing that contains that life. And it’s never been more true than perhaps now, as we’re realizing that architecture is involving everything - architecture has the ability to contribute to well-being, and I think keeping that in mind is why we’ve lasted, especially when we were sometimes waiting for the phone to ring.
University Campus UTEC Lima. Photography by Iwan Baan
Toulouse School of Economics. Photography by Dennis Gilbert
Let’s talk about the Pritzker. When you were announced as the 2020 Pritzker Laureates, the celebration within our community of readers, the community of architects that are women, was not dissimilar to what was happening in major cities across the US when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were elected recently [laughs[. There was such a sense of joy, and celebration, and of an exhale, like “Finally!” There were cheers in architecture offices - I was texting all of my girlfriends in the industry, and we were all ecstatic. You guys are really a beacon of hope for so many of us. What did the prize mean for you?
YF: It’s an amazing tribute to receive. We were stunned and very honored Julia. It’s extraordinary and wonderful. How do you put into words such an amazing moment [laughs]. I think what it means for us and for our lives is believing more and more in architecture. From a female perspective, we just happen to be women, and love being women, and have been very lucky to grow up in a country where education is more or less free. We are trained in Ireland and cut our teeth here, and what that recognition means at a global level is incredible. When your peers acknowledge you, and acknowledge the hard work of architecture and all of the projects put together, it’s just an incredible moment.
Because of COVID, the celebrations were all distant, but what was really beautiful was that the structures that were set up were such that the ceremony could be shared virtually, which actually meant that many more people could watch it than usual. We stood in our city, with the medals, and our President, Michael D. Higgins, gave us his Presidential blessing, which was very dear to our hearts.
SM: Julia, we didn’t know we were nominated! Yvonne got a text message from Martha Thorne, on a Sunday evening while she was at home. And my phone rang, and Yvonne said, “Are you sitting down?” And I genuinely don’t remember being so surprised. Then, getting the medal delivered to our respective houses was incredibly emotional. There was something beautiful about the heaviness of it, and our name on it.
Yvonne had the idea that we couldn't do the virtual acceptance ceremony from our homes, and that we had to have an architectural space from which to rise to the moment. We needed a place of ritual to stand there, and accept this. That was really interesting, that need for a space in which to recognize this fantastic award.
YF: For us, to realize that a family in the United States, with advisors of course, holds architecture to be such a mother of the arts, that it needs this kind of recognition, is amazing. 2020 has not been a great year, but it sure has had its little moment [laughs]. This moment was certainly one of the wonderful parts of life.
“We have to be careful and aware of the exclusivity that surrounds architecture...Architecture is a universal right. It’s unbelievable that people don’t realize how fundamental architecture is for their well-being. As a profession, we need to communicate that more.”
I would say that it was a pretty big moment. What have been some other highlights in your careers?
SM: In our architectural lives, I remember we were asked to attend an interview for a project at Trinity College, which was a big deal. Yvonne was on holiday when I got the phone call, and I thought it was for a refurbishment of an existing building. First they asked us for our portfolio, and we didn’t have a brochure or anything, so we literally took framed drawings from our walls and brought them down to Trinity College [laughs].
Anyway, we did the interview, and we were in this room with a large table full of people, and they said to us, “If you had the chance to do a new building for Trinity College, what would you do?” And I had to say, “I’m terribly sorry, I thought this was for a refurbishment.” And then Yvonne, fresh back from Bali, just goes, “Oh yes, I know what we could do, there are these two trees there that we could take down...” And we just talked and talked, and then we got the project! And apparently we got the project because of a mistake we made, because the jury saw the way we think and work through things, and that was amazing!
YF: Talk about losing a project, Julia [laughs]. This was not false modesty, we were certain we didn’t get the project. And then the Director of Buildings called us with a brief, and I remember feeling like we finally had a real office. That was amazing.
SM: Winning Bocconi was also amazing. That was really something because we were the outsiders - nobody knew us, nobody heard of us. We just worked really hard, and that was an extraordinary experience actually. The whole idea of working in a different country, and at a different scale - and we were ready for it! That’s what surprised us - we were in training for twenty-five years, and we really felt that we could just run with this thing, even though it was twelve or fourteen times bigger in scale than anything we had ever done. Young architects don’t get those kinds of challenges these days.
YF: The highlights Julia are really about being able to stand in a space of ours, and it being even better than we imagined it might be. Yes, it’s wonderful when we win commissions, but then when the commissions are better in reality than a drawing or a model, that’s the real thing. I think this proves that architecture is not words, not sketches, not models - it’s the built thing. It’s the moments within the building when you turn around and go, “Wow,” that are the highlights.
SM: Making architecture can be a struggle – you encounter drudgery, and boring things, and bureaucracy, and legal issues, cost, negotiations, details...it’s incredibly challenging in many ways. But then you walk into the space as a human being, and you find that it has that thing that you were looking for, a kind of architectural performance, and that makes it all worth it. It’s worth the pain [laughs].
Institut Mines-Télécom, Paris-Saclay. Photography by Philippe Ruault
Institut Mines-Télécom, Paris-Saclay. Photography by Dennis Gilbert
What would you say your mission is, as architects? What is the impact you’d like to have on the world?
SM: We got a letter from a professor in Toulouse recently, and he described the building beautifully. He talked about him being a part of a small department in the university, that wasn’t very known, but what he loved was meeting other people on the staircase of the building. His visibility within the university suddenly became different! And also the fact that he had the option to slip out the back stair if he didn’t want to meet anybody [laughs]. And we just thought his description of the building was fantastic, because he was describing the way he was using it every day, and that he loved it and enjoyed it, and that it was improving his life as a worker there. That’s the mission, let’s say. To get a response like that.
YF: One of the big problems in architecture is that we as architects speak to other architects. There is a big communication issue between the general public who are the recipients of the architecture, and the profession.
We have to be careful and aware of the exclusivity that surrounds architecture. It’s not only for the rich, it’s not, “Sorry baby, but you’re not getting any of that.” That’s not what architecture is. Architecture is a universal right. It’s unbelievable that people don’t realize how fundamental architecture is for their well-being. As a profession, we need to communicate that more. And that we are not stars, but that we are hardworking members of society, and we’re in all of this together, to make architecture. If we’re not careful, we sound exclusive, and architecture deserves more than that.
“The collective is hugely important, even if you’re in your own private practice. Collaboration, teaching with others, exhibitions - you need the collective nature of our field.”
I couldn’t agree more. Finally, what advice do you have for those starting their careers? And, would your advice be any different for women?
YF: To those just starting their career, good luck [laughs]. That’s my first advice. A career is not a straightforward trajectory at all - you can be lucky, and then unlucky, and then things change. One thing really does lead to another though - we did small exhibitions here and there, and then in the city of Dublin, and then eventually got invited to do this huge exhibition in Venice - so the best you can do is be true to yourself, and find out who you are bit by bit.
In terms of advice for women, and I think it’s true for men as well - surround yourself with actual friends. Find your supportive networks, because architecture overlaps hugely with your life, and friendships and relationships matter. You do need a certain amount of luck, but you wilI find clients who believe who you are, and we’ve been lucky I think, that clients have found us, or we’ve found them. Sometimes things work well, and sometimes not so well, but always have a sense of the wonderful nature of architecture, and keep watering and growing that. And finally, remember that the ordinary is wonderful too - you don’t have to be standing on your head to stand out. You can make a beautiful tiny thing, and it matters. It matters.
SM: One thing I would say to women is not to think of yourself as being a “female architect.” Think about yourself as being an architect. It’s difficult for any young architect to find their way, and I think Yvonne is really right in that you need a culture and network of support. When you’re young, you feed off of each other! You talk to each other, you learn from each other. The collective is hugely important, even if you’re in your own private practice. Collaboration, and teaching with others, and exhibitions - you need the collective nature of our field. The support system that helps you find your way is really important.
YF: Finally, life is all ups and downs. You’re not just going along smoothly, or on an incline. There are ups and downs, and you need to enjoy the ups and be dragged out of the downs. Life is full of excitement, danger, wonder, sadness - all of those things. And the amazing thing about work, no matter what work you do, is that work is the thing that sails steadily along through those peaks and troughs. That’s what’s incredible about the projects - the projects are the huge liners that keep sailing along. Buildings are the slow food movement, they stand there, and there’s an incredible sense of them being monuments in time. But, in closing, be yourself and stay healthy - and keep in mind that hard work never did anyone any harm.