The holder of the Driehaus Prize 2025 is Liam O’Connor

British architect Liam O'Connor was declared the laureate of the Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture on January 30, 2025. The most prestigious global award for contemporary traditionalist architects, associated with a financial reward of USD 200,000, was awarded to him by a commission established by the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame in the USA. Its members include architects Stefanos Polyzoides (Dean of the School of Architecture at Notre Dame), Michael Lykoudis (Emeritus Dean of the School), architects and first laureates Léon Krier and Demetri Porphyrios, as well as architects Melissa DelVecchio, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Julia Treese.

Liam O'Connor was born in 1961. In 1989, he founded his own studio based in London. In 1992, he participated in organizing the famous exhibition A Vision of Europe in Bologna, where European and American traditionalist architects presented their designs for new buildings, new residences, and revitalizations of public spaces within historical surroundings. Liam O'Connor later taught building design and urban planning in the classical approach in courses at the Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture (today's King Charles III) as well as at the architecture schools of Yale and Notre Dame in the USA.

In 1999, Liam O'Connor won an international competition for the Commonwealth Memorial Gates in London. Since then, he has designed several memorials to soldiers of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth army and war victims - visitors to London may be familiar with the Memorial Gates (unveiled in 2002) and the adjacent RAF Bomber Command Memorial (2012) on the edge of Green Park at the Hyde Park Corner tube station. The riveted ceiling panels of the second memorial were created from the wreckage of a Canadian Halifax aircraft shot down over Belgium on May 12, 1944. In 2021, the extensive British Normandy Memorial was unveiled near the famous Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, in memory of those who fell during the Allied forces' landings in 1944.

The monuments designed by the architect combine refined and austere classical style with traditional figurative sculpture, fulfilling the meanings, expectations, and emotions traditionally associated with memorials: representation, dignity, reverence, and beauty. In addition to memorials, the portfolio of the architectural studio includes new residences in London, in smaller towns, and in the countryside primarily in the UK, but also in Belgium and Switzerland. A hallmark is the emphasis on the quality of details and the connection of buildings with public space and the landscape. Interestingly, in 2013, O'Connor's studio collaborated with Zaha Hadid Architects on modifications to Kensington Gardens in London.

Along with the Driehaus Prize, the Henry Hope Reed Prize (USD 50,000) is awarded for the cultivation and promotion of traditional building and art. This year it was awarded to Philippe Rotthier (born 1941), a Belgian architect, connoisseur, and guardian of traditional building. In 1982, he established the European Prize for Urban Regeneration, now known as the European Prize Philippe Rotthier for Architecture, and in 1986, the Architecture Foundation in Brussels. Typically, every three years, projects completed in traditional local materials, environmentally friendly, and employing regional formalism are awarded, including not only new constructions but also renovations, residential complexes, and interventions in the landscape. Philippe Rotthier spent part of his life in Ibiza and Polynesia, where he designed buildings in a vernacular style. His enthusiasm and activities have influenced several generations of architects, including this year's awarded Liam O'Connor.

More info and images:
https://driehausprize.nd.edu/laureates/liam-oconnor/
https://www.liamoconnor.com/
https://www.rotthierprize.com/