Portfolio

Feidhlim O’Neill

Architect

CV + Portfolio 2019

Contents CV Gallaudet images exhibited at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

Portfolio:

Colin Transport Centre (CTC) 2018 Venice Biennale Whinney Hill

Yellow Pavilion

Architect

Feidhlim O’Neill

Information

Profile

Male 01.11.1989 Address: 52 Walsh Street South Yarra, Melbourne Victoria, Australia Contact: f.oneill08@gmail.com 0422578121 Skype: feidhlimo

Architectural Education

I have extensive experience working on highly pressurized international and regional architectural competitions (several of which I have been part of the winning team).

These compressed projects have gave me a broad understanding of how to design highly complicated, site specific and beautiful buildings, they have allowed me to express my flair for creating architectural imagery, something which I thoroughly enjoy doing. This interest has stemmed from my passion for fine art (specifically Italian renaissance paintings).

My passion for site specific buildings extended into my postgraduate education. I wrote my thesis on the subject of ‘Architectural Identity’, trying to understand how identity is expressed in architecture. These explorations lead me to study the works of de Blacam and Meagher, Robbrecht en Daem, Jorn Utzon and Sigurd Lewerentz. My thesis project ‘Digital Agora’ subsequently was shortlisted for the RSUA Silver Medal, RIBA Presidents Medals and I was invited to present my work at the 2018 All-Ireland Thesis Symposium.

Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice Queen’s University, Belfast Commendation 2018

Each summer during my Undergraduate studies I lived and worked in Toronto, Canada. There I worked on construction sites learning as much as I could about the construction process and how things are physically put together. I hoped that by doing this I would have practical knowledge of how a building is made aswell as understanding the logistics of working on site.

Master of Architecture Ulster University, 2015-2017 Commendation

I have a passion for sport particularly playing Golf (11 handicap) and Gaelic Football.

I played for Armagh senior football team for 3 years winning a national league; after suffering a broken leg in 2016 I couldn’t perform to the same standard. I play midfield for my local club St. Paul’s, Lurgan and captained them to an Armagh League and Championship double in 2014.

BA (Hons) Architecture John Moores University 2008-2012

Notable Achievements Work exhibited at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, NYC, 2018 Shortlisted for 2017 RSUA Silver Medal for my thesis project ‘Digital Agora’ Nominated for the 2017 RIBA Presidents Medal Silver Medal All-Ireland Thesis Symposium, Presenter, 2018

Skills AutoCAD SketchUp V-Ray Rhino Thesis model photograph, ‘Digital Agora’

Adobe Creative Suite: Illustrator inDesign Photoshop Lightroom Microsoft Office

Experience Hall McKnight, Belfast 2015-2019 I have worked in Hall McKnight for the past 5 years; during this time I have worked on a range of projects at varying scales from temporary pavilions at the Venice Biennale to city masterplans for Copenhagen. This diverse range of projects have provided me with a wealth of experience across the various stages of design and construction. Some of the more notable projects are in this portfolio.

In 2015 I designed and constructed the Yellow Pavilion, a temporary structure which was exhibited in the 2015 London Festival of Architecture, the project ran for several months. I was also a valuable member of the design team which were successful in winning several architecture competitions, these include Mew Optic (designing and constructing a new enclosure for a rare Fresnel lighthouse light) and Hill House (designing a new structure which showcases the Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Hill House whilst much needed renovations are ongoing to the original building). I was also part of the design team which won an international competition to masterplan the North Harbour of Copenhagen, Levantkaj.

I was part of the design team which won an International Architecture Competition for Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. The images which were submitted for the competition were selected to be showcased in the exhibition ‘The Senses: Design Beyond Vision’ in the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York. In 2017-2018 I also helped design and construct the Irish Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Biennale entitled ‘Freespace’ which was curated by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects.

Awards:

RSUA Liam McCormick Award, Northern Irelands Building of the Year 2019 RIBA Regional Award 2019

Colin Transport Centre [CTC] Poleglass, Belfast 2019

Feidhlim O’Neill

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This building and its associated square will be the first pieces to emerge from a Masterplan that will see significant regeneration of a historically deprived area of West Belfast. Whilst associated with a new city-wide rapid transit project known as the ‘Glider’, the building will act as a focus around which the Masterplan will develop.

Square granite figures define the two parts of the project in plan – a new public square and the building. The interior of the building is made with insitu concrete that is dyed with a red pigment evoking the tones of Victorian brickwork that define the historic city’s streets some miles to the east.

Despite its modest scale, the building is designed to offer a sense of robust permanence at the outset of the Masterplan’s development – establishing a determined character derived from visible construction of heavy materials in the hope that such values might inform the wider project as it evolves.

The CTC was executed using the NEC3 Building Contract, it reached practical completion in Winter of 2018.

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a: Photograph of the public square and CTC building model. b: Site plan. c: Site progress photograph of the red dyed concrete. d: Site photograph of the red insitu concrete. b

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ELEVATION DD a: Ground floor plan, insitu red concrete interior wrapped a grey stone veneer. b: South elevation showing the triangular roof lights, curved roof and stone bonding. c: Physical model of the project

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a: Section through CTC illustrating the relationship between the roof, red concrete and the grey stone. b: North elevation c: Internal photograph showing the sliding security screen and triangular roof lights. opposite: External photograph with the Transport Centre in context.

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Unique Instruments, Expectant Spaces 2018 Venice Biennale Venice, Italy 2018

Feidhlim O’Neill

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Our response to the ‘Freespace’ brief addressed the unspoken wishes of strangers. We created a gallery based upon the stepped gardens and courts of our Greenwich Peninsula project. From within this real architecturl space may view a series of models of Freespace from our current project portfolio.

The models are contained with large vessels held within the overall architectural form. They have been constructed as mirror images of the proposals, as a visitor standing at one of the openings will use a mirror to view the ‘expectant’ space. When viewed through the mirrors the models appear to occupy a space outside of their containing vessels – the image is projected beyond the physical limits of the piece.

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a: Section through the Corderie Building showing the front elevation of the Pavilion. b: Photograph of the Corderie Building.

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The sides of the vessels are inscribed with the base of the mirrored model, which, when viewed from its underside allows the proposed plan of the project to be revealed. As architects seeking to make successful Freespace, we must become adept at experiencing and seeing the world also as non–architects, immersed in life, whilst interpreting this individualised experience through an architectural filter. This is the challenge – to address the unspoken wishes of strangers within the plans of our projects. a

a: Photographs of the construction of the Pavilion. b: Exploded axonometric drawing showing the assembly of the vessels within the frames. c: Plan drawing and elevational projections.

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a: Photograph of the Pavilion in use during the 2018 Venice Biennale. b: Detail photograph of one of the Vessels.

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Pre-Application reference

Whinney Hill

Private Residence Co. Down, Northern Ireland 2019

Feidhlim O’Neill

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Belfast City Airport

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Northern Ireland Assembly

Hall McKnight were approached by a private client to design and construct a private residence on a site located some 5 miles to the east of Belfast City Centre. The triangular site was an amalgamation of two smaller sites with the topography grading to the north. Adjacent to the site on the east side is a fresh water reservoir which supplies Belfast City.

Under the planning guidelines several design restrictions were applied to the site, these informed our design decisions. The main planning restriction stipulated that the new building height could not exceed the original ridge height.

We envisioned the project as a series of low lying, highly bespoke series of gables which maintain the same ridge height and sit on a rough concrete plinth. Whilst the ridge height is maintained the finished floor level follows the site topography, gradually falling to open up views across Belfast Lough and across to Scotland. The material palette chosen for this project was inspired by the agricultural heritage of the site.

Fresh Water Reservoir Whinney Hill

Existing House (65 Whinney Hill)

a: Satellite image illustrating the proximity of the site to Belfast City. b: Material palette used on the Whinney Hill project. Robust concrete for the plinth, lighter rendered walls and slate. c: Early development sketch illustrating a series of low lying forms which follow the typography of the site. d: Planning application site plan, two adjoining sites were combined with the new project covering the two sites.

Site with outline approval ref w/2013/1077/O Note: The proposed scheme is for a single dwelling sited within the combined land of both sites as indicated.

This project was executed under a 12 month 2019 JCT Intermediate Contract with Contractor’s Design Portion, the project is currently on site and is due to reach Practical Completion at the end of April 2019.

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65 Whinney Hill and adjacent site location

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a: Plan of Whinney Hill, entering to the south of the house, the plan opens toward the City to the north east. b: Early entrance courtyard visual. c: Plan diagrams. c1: Solid void diagram c2: Roof coverings c3: Central axis aligns the entrance and the view c4: Openings in walls for light and circulation

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03 _ Concrete element insertion

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a: West elevation. b: Long section illustrating the four types of roof construction within the project. c: Early concept sketch of the gabled forms

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a: Internal image of the lounge with the large picture window looking out over Belfast Lough. b: Detail section through the lounge.

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a: Detail section through the valley gutter. b: Photograph of valley gutter as built (Photograph taken in Feb 2019) c: Close up photograph of the copper slate hooks (Photograph taken in Feb 2019).

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Yellow Pavilion

London Festival of Architecture King’s Cross, London 2015

Feidhlim O’Neill

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The Yellow Pavilion was envisioned as a room within the city. Like a room, the city is steadily collecting - buildings, streets, memories, experiences, activity, ideas, materials. The city is a collection of collections. The Yellow Pavilion is a collection of collections.

The pavilion contains a collection of 1,000 Belfast bricks - an allegory of the city as an open project – alive, in progress. Some of the bricks have been modified by students from the Ulster University – this process continued throughout the life of the Pavilion as it returns to Ireland – the bricks eventually returning to Belfast where they will eventually be built into the structure of a new building.

The Yellow Pavilion’s structure is itself is a collection – comprised of 854 parts all machined from 18mm timber. This structure defines a room – that room is lined with bricks which will rest on a collection of shelves. Essentially, the bricks make the room and the timber structure that holds the bricks can be understood as both a container or repository, as well as presenting itself as a piece of city – a collection of arches or city- fragments. In this sense the project presents two collections – the bricks (substantial, heavy, yet individual); and the arches (light, temporary, yet forming a structure with depth and visual weight). Just as the city records the constant exchange between private and public experience, so the pavilion offers a space of intimacy within the public forum of Cubitt Square, whilst becoming allegorical to the infrastructure of the city; the piece that supports and enables the city to be built.

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a: View from the office across Belfast toward Harland and Wolff. Belfast is a city of bricks. b: Diagram illustrating the components used to assemble one of the modules for the Yellow Pavilion. c: A room full of bricks. These were laid out for the Ulster Universtiy students. d: Diagram of every piece used in the construction of the Yellow Pavilion.

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The Yellow pavilion is sited at the southeast corner of the square. The prevalence of brick arches in the area (particularly evident in the long shed immediately adjacent to the south, and the vertiginous brick-arched coal-drops under the Square’s southeast corner) informs the structure which is made of thin arches cut from sheet-timber and arranged in such a way as generate a thickness or depth that affords the structure the character of something both substantial yet delicate. We chose to paint the structure yellow. Through this colour the structure connects with the other temporary objects that we encountered in the Square – a collection of yellow chairs and tables. The yellow is also redolent of Belfast’s pair of iconic shipyard cranes and the yellow tones in much London stock brick.

The plan, section and elevations are laid out using square and Golden Section – a selfimposed context that we adopted to counter a sense of in-completion as the Square awaits the buildings that will eventually define its more permanent character. Whilst the structure has been designed and installed within a very short period in 2015, the repetition of the arch figure and the character resulting from the ideal mathematical proportions, invites a much less certain reading of the project’s relationship to history.

a: The Yellow Pavilion at dusk b: Four elevations with the Golden Section proportion overlaid c: The Yellow Pavilion situated next to the Arches at King’s Cross. This architectural language is expressed in the design of the Pavilion. d: Exploratory models of the Pavilion before construction e: Plan of the Yellow Pavilion with the Golden Section proportion overlaid. f: Structural diagram.of stress loads at the joints. a

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a: The Yellow Pavilion in Cubitt Square, the Red Pavilion by TAKA Architects can be seen in the distance. b: Internal image of the Yellow Pavilion, the shelves of bricks, some of which have been manipulated by Ulster University students can be seen.

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© Images may be subject to copyright 2019