Irish architect Niall McCullough has died

On August 20, at the age of 63, the outstanding Irish architect Niall McCullough passed away due to a malignant illness, who, in 1986, founded the internationally successful studio McCullough Mulvin Architects (MCMA) together with his wife Valeria Mulvin.

McCullough first visited Ostrava on the occasion of the exhibition "Laboratory of Nature. Geology/Biology", which was initiated and prepared by the Architecture Cabinet with the support of the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava and which was showcased in the large hall of its House of Art.

Interestingly, this first presentation of their work in the Czech Republic was a significant impetus for the studio's participation in the competition for the reconstruction of the former historical slaughterhouse for use as a city gallery in Ostrava, where they were the only participants to contribute a remarkable proposal that took into account a much broader context of the addressed object than was required, including the Town Hall building of the Ostrava city council.

On behalf of the Architecture Cabinet, we express our sincere condolences to Valeria and everyone at McCullough Mulvin Architects.

Niall and his team from MCMA gained international fame by winning an international competition (2015) for the redevelopment of the extensive Thapar University campus in Punjab, India, and this competition vision is gradually being successfully realized.

The transformation of the volume of the church and the surrounding structures from the 13th century into St. Mary's Medieval Mile Museum placed the MCMA studio on the shortlist for the Mies van der Rohe Award 2019, a prestigious exhibition of contemporary European architecture.