Staff Profile

Kieran is a lecturer in architecture, a researcher, and a designer. He completed his undergraduate and Masters degrees at Newcastle University, before embarking on a Ph.D by Creative Practice (completed 2023).

He has been a lecturer at the School since 2019, contributing predominantly to design studio teaching across the BA (Hons) Architecture undergraduate degree programme, as well as teaching into undergraduate history and theory modules and contributing to architecture technology and construction modules. His research is predominantly centred around architecture history and material culture, with a primary interest in historical studies of twentieth century building and construction materials and their intersections with architecture and design culture. He has contributed book chapters to a number of publications that expand on his Ph.D research and has presented at a number conferences, including the third edition of the Marco Frascari Symposium, held at the Washington Alexandria Architecture Center in 2017, and at the annual conference of the College Art Association of America in 2023.

He has also practiced with Design Office, the School’s innovative design research consultancy that was included in The Architect’s Journal ‘40 Under 40’ listing in 2020, ‘celebrating the UK's most exciting emerging architectural talent’. Working with Design Office, he contributed to the multi-phase refurbishment and renovation of Newcastle University’s Grade II* Armstrong Building between 2014-2018. The project was subsequently shortlisted for the 2019 RIBA North-East Awards.

Qualifications

BA (Hons) Architecture, M.Arch Architecture (Dist.), Ph.D by Creative Practice.

• Book Chapters

  • Connolly K. Into the void: drawing out the default space of the suspended ceiling. In: Mason, A; Sharr, A, ed. Creative Practice Inquiry in Architecture. Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge, 2022, pp.64-75.
  • Connolly K. Life, Superceiling. In: Emmons P; Goffi F; La Coe J, ed. Ceilings and Dreams: The Architecture of Levity. New York, NY, USA: Routledge, 2019, pp.184-196.
  • Sharr A, Connolly K, Longfield J, Megahed Y. The Pleasure's All Ours: Productive Trades Between Practice and Research. In: Cayer, A; Deamer, P; Korsh, S; Peterson, E and Shvartzber, M, ed. Asymmetric Labors: The Economy of Architecture in Theory and Practice. New York, NY, USA: The Architecture Lobby, 2016, pp.221-228.