Lorcan O'Herlihy

Lorcan O'Herlihy was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 14 September 1959, to Dan O'Herlihy, an Oscar-nominated Irish actor who had trained in architecture at University College Dublin, and his wife. As a toddler he moved with his film-business family to Los Angeles, spent formative middle- and high-school years back in Dublin, and grew up traveling for his father's roles. He studied architecture at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, graduating in 1981, then completed a Master of Arts in History and Critical Thinking at the Architectural Association in London, focusing on film and architecture. His brother was actor Gavan O'Herlihy.

Early jobs included an internship with Kevin Roche, a friend of his father's from University College Dublin, followed by work for I. M. Pei and Partners on the Grand Louvre Museum Pyramid team in New York and Paris, time at large corporate firms, and Steven Holl Architects, including the AIA National Honor Award-winning Hybrid Building in Seaside, Florida. After a brief period devoted to painting, he founded Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects (LOHA) in Los Angeles in 1994. LOHA became known for denser urban housing with courtyards, pocket parks, and vivid color, including Formosa 1140, Habitat 825, Mariposa 1038, and supportive housing such as MLK1101 and Isla Intersections for nonprofit developers including Skid Row Housing Trust and Clifford Beers Housing. From 2016 a Detroit office supported City Modern in Brush Park and Baltimore Station. Cultural work included the Sandi Simon Center for Dance at Chapman University. Awards included Architectural League Emerging Voices (2004), AIA Fellowship (2009), AIACC Distinguished Practice (2018), Architect Magazine ARCHITECT50 top design firm ranking for LOHA (2018), and AIA Los Angeles Gold Medal (2021). Books include a Rockport monograph (1999), Amplified Urbanism (2017), and Architecture Is a Social Act (2020). He taught at USC and, in March 2026, LOHA moved toward collective ownership with seven long-time colleagues elevated.

O'Herlihy married actress Cornelia Hayes O'Herlihy. They lived in Vertical House (2003) in Venice, California, then later in Malibu after the arrival of their twin sons, Daire and Darcy. He designed a Malibu residence for his parents that was named an Architectural Record House in 1987 and later rebuilt in concrete after the Woolsey Fire destroyed the original. His own Malibu home later sustained damage in the Palisades Fire. He remained connected to Ireland, completing Flynn Mews in Dublin and speaking at the RIAI Conference in 2019.

Lorcan O'Herlihy died at his home in Malibu, California, on 14 June 2026, at the age of 66. Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects confirmed the death and stated that the cause was glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Architectural Record, The Architect's Newspaper, The New York Times, ArchDaily, and the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland published obituaries and tributes. He was survived by his wife, Cornelia Hayes O'Herlihy, and their twin sons, Daire and Darcy. Funeral arrangements included services in Glencar, Ireland.

O'Herlihy left a body of work that treated housing as a site of innovation and civic care in Los Angeles and Detroit, arguing that architects should operate inside political and development structures to solve real urban problems. Colleagues and critics, including Neil Denari and Raymund Ryan, credited him with keeping multifamily and affordable housing at the center of design culture when spectacle architecture dominated. LOHA's awards tally, teaching at USC, and the firm's 2026 transition to collective ownership were presented as continuations of a collaborative studio culture. His books and built projects remain reference points for amplified urbanism: denser living with shared open space, color, and social purpose.