British architect Liam O’Connor is the winner of this year’s Driehaus Prize from the University of Notre Dame — the award of $200,000 is the largest cash prize in the world of architecture.
O’Connor is best known for his modern takes on war memorials and other public memorials, including the Commonwealth Memorial Gates in London, inaugurated in 2002 as a memorial for soldiers who served in the World Wars, and 2021’s British Normandy Memorial in France.
“The jury acknowledged his lifelong dedication to the design of a body of excellent new traditional public and private buildings and civic monuments — works projecting grace and beauty and expressing the shared emotions and cultural expectations of their audiences,” according to an announcement of the award on Wednesday.
The Richard H. Driehaus Prize is presented annually by the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture in recognition of that year’s laureate’s body of work. It’s given in the name of the founder of Chicago-based Driehaus Capital Management and the award will be presented in a ceremony on March 22 at Chicago’s Driehaus Museum (50 E. Erie St.).
Additionally, the Henry Hope Reed Award of $50,000 will go to Belgian architect Philippe Rotthier.
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