What O'Connell Mahon Architects does

O'Connell Mahon Architects (OCMA) is a Dublin-headquartered architecture firm specialising in the design of healthcare and wellness facilities, with a secondary office in Cork and a 60-person team of design professionals. Founded in 1998 by Brian O'Connell and Sean Mahon, the firm has delivered over 150 healthcare projects over roughly 30 years for public and private clients, ranging from small interior interventions to national-scale infrastructure. Core service lines comprise architectural design, healthcare-specific design (medical planning, hospital development control planning, clean room and laboratory design), BIM-enabled technical services, regulatory and compliance advisory (planning, building regulations, PSDP roles), and contract advisory including dispute resolution. Pricing is project-based and not publicly disclosed; the firm operates a single professional services revenue stream with no resellers or intermediaries.

The firm's operating model centres on a proprietary Healthcare Library containing over 120 standard clinical room designs and more than 3,500 clinical equipment drawings, combined with BIM workflows used since 2011 and ISO 19650-compliant information management. This standardisation enables a replicable building design methodology that has compressed design-to-tender timelines for surgical hub typologies from over two years to approximately four months. Technology investment is concentrated in Revit-based 3D modelling and visualisation rather than in AI/ML systems. Certifications include ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001 and adherence to the RIAI 2030 Climate Challenge.

Go-to-market is direct relationship-based enterprise sales into the public sector, dominated by Ireland's Health Service Executive, and private healthcare operators including the Bon Secours hospital group. The firm does not disclose revenue, has no external investment, and remains founder-controlled following the November 2025 appointment of Clare White as Managing Director, succeeding Sean Mahon who led the practice for 17 years. Customer acquisition leans on industry awards, thought leadership content and project reputation rather than paid marketing channels.

Name

O'Connell Mahon Architects

Legal name

O'Connell Mahon Architects

Website

https://oconnellmahon.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

O'Connell Mahon Architects is an Irish healthcare architecture firm delivering hospital, surgical hub, and clinical facility design for public and private healthcare clients. With 60 design professionals across Dublin and Cork, the firm has completed over 150 healthcare projects over 30 years.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Healthcare architecture services
• Hospital design services
• Medical facility planning
• Building information modelling
• Architectural design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: Professional architectural services for healthcare and other building projects, including design, technical services, regulatory compliance, and contract advisory.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

O'Connell Mahon Architects is a specialist architecture firm providing architectural design, project management, and related professional services focused on healthcare and wellness buildings. The practice delivers full architectural services from brief development and medical planning through to construction documentation, site inspection, regulatory compliance, and contract advisory, serving public sector clients such as the HSE and private healthcare providers across Ireland.

Product overview

O'Connell Mahon Architects (OCMA) is a specialist architecture firm focused on health and wellness architecture, offering comprehensive architectural services across five core areas: Architectural Design Services (including 3D modelling, interior design, urban design, and historic conservation), Healthcare Design (medical planning, hospital development, clean room/pharmacy/laboratory design, and robotic integration), Regulatory and Compliance Services (planning applications, building regulations, disability access certificates), BIM and Technical Services (Building Information Modelling, construction documentation, site inspection), and Contract Advisory and Dispute Resolution (expert witness, mediation, arbitration). With a 60-person team across Dublin and Cork offices, OCMA has delivered over 150 healthcare projects over nearly 30 years, including major hospital infrastructure, surgical hubs, and rehabilitation facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• From inception to tender in just four months for surgical hubs, compared to over two years using traditional methods
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Trinity College Dublin - Trinity HauscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing research collaboration for 10 years with Trinity College Dublin's Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering – Trinity Haus in the area of dementia inclusive design. Research has examined requirements of people with cognitive impairment and dementia navigating the built environment in long-term residential care homes and acute hospital settings.
• John Sisk & Son LtdmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction works on North Dublin Surgical Hub (January 2024 - November 2025) were led by John Sisk & Son Ltd. Also involved as contractor on UHL Campus project.
• HSE (Health Service Executive)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking closely with HSE on national surgical hubs programme. OCMA introduced streamlined design-to-tender approach for surgical hubs in Cork, Limerick, and Waterford as part of HSE's national strategy to expand capacity for day case surgery.
• Maloney O'Beirne ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint project delivery for MISA - Mercers Institute for Successful Aging, Dublin, which won Best Health Building Award 2017.
• Irish Green Building CouncilminorOthersActive members of the Irish Green Building Council. Practice has achieved ISO14001 and created dedicated office and project sustainability policies.
• RIAI (Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland)minorOthersOCMA adopted the RIAI 2030 Climate Challenge commitments including reduction of operational demand, embodied carbon by 40%, and potable water use by 40%. Active in RIAI awards programme.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Maloney O'Beirne Architects: Irish healthcare-focused architecture practice that has collaborated with OCMA (MISA project, 2017). Comparable as a specialised Irish healthcare architecture peer competing for similar HSE hospital commissions.
• McCullough Mulvin Architects: Dublin-based architecture practice with significant work in healthcare, education, and civic buildings. A direct Irish peer competing in the same public-sector tender landscape for institutional and healthcare projects.
• Henry J. Lyons Architects: Large Dublin-based architecture firm with significant healthcare, commercial, and residential work. A direct Irish peer competing for major institutional and healthcare projects across Ireland.
• Scott Tallon Walker Architects: One of Ireland's largest and most established architecture practices with a deep healthcare portfolio (including St James's Hospital, Tallaght Hospital). Directly comparable as a large Irish architecture firm competing for the same HSE and public hospital commissions as OCMA.
• RKD Architects: Irish architecture firm with comparable scale and a portfolio spanning healthcare, workplace, and education sectors. A direct competitor in the Irish institutional architecture market, particularly for HSE and public sector commissions.

Regional players

• BDP (Building Design Partnership): Major UK-based interdisciplinary architecture practice with substantial healthcare work (including NHS frameworks). Comparable as a UK/European healthcare design specialist that OCMA could compete with or partner alongside for cross-jurisdiction health infrastructure projects.

Broad incumbents

• HKS, Inc. Global architecture firm widely regarded as a leader in healthcare design. Comparable as a larger, established healthcare-specialised architecture incumbent against which OCMA's healthcare focus must differentiate in any international expansion.
• HDR Architects: Large global design firm with one of the world's leading healthcare architecture practices. Represents the broader incumbent competition that OCMA would face scaling outside Ireland, with deep healthcare specialisation.
• Stantec Architecture: Global design and consulting firm with significant healthcare architecture capability across North America and Europe. Represents the broader incumbent competition in the international healthcare design market where OCMA would seek to expand.

Emerging players

• Medical Architecture: UK-based architecture practice dedicated exclusively to healthcare design. Comparable as a similarly-sized healthcare-specialist peer, with shared focus on clinical planning, NHS-style frameworks, and replicable healthcare design templates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/o-connell-mahon-architects

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about O'Connell Mahon Architects