Howley Harrington Architects

The Millennium Bridge in Dublin was designed by the practice of Howley Harrington Architects in 1999. Seán Harrington was the partner-in-charge of the project. The Millennium Bridge was the first of several competition successes for the practice, which received numerous awards for both design and conservation projects. In 2005 the practice disbanded and from its successes Sean Harrington Architects and Howley Hayes Architects were formed. Award winning projects of Howley Harrington Architects include: The Millennium Bridge, Balgaddy Social Housing, Holles Street Social Housing, Termon House, Buncrana Castle, Dromoland Gazebo, Browne Clayton Column, Larch Hill Demesne.​

Seán Harrington studied architecture at Edinburgh University, and University College Dublin, receiving double first class honours. For nine years he worked in London for Edward Cullinan Architects and subsequently for two years in Dublin before the foundation of Howley Harrington Architects. During this latter period he worked for Gilroy McMahon, where he was project architect for the pedestrian bridge at the Viking Centre in Temple Bar. He has won numerous awards for architectural design in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, including a British Steel Design Award with Edward Cullinan Architects for a 45 metre steel and glass pedestrian bridge at Warwick University. Seán Harrington has recently been the Vice-President of the RIAI, a member of the RIAI Housing Committee, external examiner for Architecture at D.I.T. Bolton Street and visiting critic at UCD, DIT and Queens University Schools of Architecture. Formerly an external examiner for Architectural Technology at D.I.T. Bolton Street and a RIAI professional practice examiner. Seán Harrington has lectured on the subject of architecture, housing and sustainability, in London, Brussels, Kiev and Moscow and all over Ireland including in Dublin and Belfast. Seán is a special policy adviser to the Science Gallery in Trinity College Dublin, and is one of Ireland’s leading experts in sustainable and energy-efficient architectural design. Seán Harrington Architects are the architects for the new public transport bridge connecting Marlborough Street and Hawkins Street in Dublin, which is currently under construction.

James Howley studied architecture at Manchester and Cambridge, and later completed an MA in Conservation Studies at the University of York. Before his return to Ireland, he spent two years working on the Musèe D’Orsay in Paris, and twelve years working in London, eight of them on his own account, prior to moving to Dublin where Howley Harrington was established the following year. He is passionate about good design of all periods, and is particularly interested in the interpretation of historic buildings and places, and how they can be secured for the future by good contemporary interventions together with the sensitive retention and repair of historic fabric. In this his new practice, Howley Hayes continues in the award winning success of Howley Harrington.