OBFA Architects

What OBFA Architects does

OBFA Architects is an Irish architecture practice founded in 2013 by Ciaran O'Brien, headquartered at 1 Johnson Place, Dublin 2. The firm provides professional architectural design and project management services across housing, cultural, civic, healthcare, education, defence, and conservation sectors for government, institutional, and corporate clients in Ireland. Its core competencies are conservation, adaptive reuse of historic buildings, and contemporary interventions in heritage contexts, supported by Conservation Grade G2/G3 accredited architects, MRIAI-credentialed staff, and co-design processes that engage communities in project development. The practice delivers projects using BIM-enabled workflows on tools including Revit, InDesign, and Photoshop.

The firm operates a horizontal segmentation strategy serving Irish local authorities (Dublin City Council, Galway, Laois, Wexford, Kildare County Councils), national cultural institutions (Project Arts Centre, NCAD, Galway Museum), healthcare providers (Mater University Hospital, HSE), defence agencies (Defence Forces Ireland), corporates (Aviva Ireland), and NGOs (CVHA, ALONE). Revenue is generated through professional service fees established via competitive public-sector tendering, design competitions, and direct appointments from repeat institutional clients, typically structured as multi-year project contracts. OBFA has no disclosed revenue, no funding rounds, no parent company, and is founder-owned. In 2025 the practice expanded its leadership from two to four director-level appointments and hired its first Business Strategy Manager, signaling a shift toward more deliberate organizational scaling on the back of a 100+-home delivery footprint in 2023 and multiple RIAI and Age Friendly Ireland award recognitions.

Name

OBFA Architects

Legal name

OBFA Architects

Website

https://obfa.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Historic Preservation & Conservation Planning (BPAHAKAH)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Conservation and adaptive reuse
• Public housing architecture
• Cultural and museum design
• BIM project delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Architectural Services: OBFA generates revenue through professional architectural service fees for design, planning, and project delivery across housing, civic, cultural, healthcare, and conservation projects for government and private clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

OBFA Architects is a Dublin-based professional architecture practice providing architectural design, masterplanning, and project management services to government, institutional, and select private clients across Ireland. The firm's work spans public and elderly housing, cultural and museum facilities, healthcare buildings, educational campuses, heritage conservation and adaptive reuse of historic structures, civic and defence buildings, and commercial interior fit-outs.

Product overview

OBFA Architects is an Irish architectural practice founded in 2013, offering comprehensive architectural design and consulting services. The firm does not operate a software product or platform; its 'offerings' are professional services spanning multiple project types including housing (elderly housing, supported housing, public housing, residential developments), cultural/museum projects, healthcare facilities, education projects, heritage conservation and adaptive reuse, civic buildings, and commercial fit-outs. Key named projects include Richmond Place elderly housing in Inchicore, Shackleton Museum in Athy, Block 8 Haulbowline conservation project, Collins Barracks accommodation facility, Galway Museum extension, and various local authority housing schemes across Ireland. The practice also engages in feasibility studies, masterplanning, and co-design processes with communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public and Social Housing Architectural Design End-to-end architectural design and project management of public, social, elderly, and supported housing schemes for Irish local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies, including feasibility studies, planning, BIM delivery, and on-site contract administration.
• Heritage Conservation and Adaptive Reuse Conservation-led design, refurbishment, and adaptive reuse of protected and historic buildings for government, defence, and cultural clients, delivered by Conservation Grade G2 and G3 accredited architects including retrofit to nZEB standards.
• Cultural and Museum Architecture Architectural design, masterplanning, extensions, and refurbishment of museums, heritage centres, and arts venues for institutions such as NCAD, Project Arts Centre, Galway City Museum, and Kildare County Council.
• Healthcare Facility Design Refurbishment, fit-out, and clinical facility design for hospitals and healthcare providers including HSE facilities and the Mater University Hospital, balancing operational continuity with sensitive design for vulnerable patient groups.
• Education Campus Masterplanning Campus masterplanning, building upgrades, and educational facility design for institutions such as NCAD, balancing modernisation with the preservation of historic buildings.
• Defence and Civic Building Design Architectural design for defence forces, civic, and government facilities including accommodation schemes and conservation of heritage defence buildings for clients such as the Defence Forces Ireland and Irish Naval Service.
• Corporate Office Fit-out Interior redesign and fit-out of corporate workplaces, such as the 3,500 m² Employee and Broker Suite at Aviva Ireland's Dublin headquarters.
• Co-Design Community Engagement Collaborative co-design methodology engaging communities in the design development of public realm, housing regeneration, and cultural projects, applied as an integral part of OBFA's project delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 new homes delivered across Ireland in 2023 alone
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Malone O'ReganminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngineering consultancy partnership on Defence Forces projects including Collins Barracks accommodation facility.
• Matt O'Mahony & AssociatesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting partnership on Collins Barracks Defence Forces project.
• Nolan Construction ConsultantsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction consultancy partnership on Defence Forces projects including Haulbowline Block 8 and Collins Barracks.
• Richard McCrae EngineersminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngineering consultancy partnership on Collins Barracks project.
• McKenna Consulting EngineersminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngineering partnership on Dunlo Hill Ballinasloe housing project.
• Healy Consulting EngineersminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngineering consultancy on Dunlo Hill Ballinasloe regeneration project.
• Carraig Consultancy Quantity SurveyorsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerQuantity surveying on Dunlo Hill Ballinasloe project.
• FONRminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting partner on Inchicore elderly housing project.
• AIT Urbanism + LandscapeminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerUrbanism and landscape architecture on Richmond Place Inchicore project.
• Delap & WallerminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngineering consultancy on Inchicore housing with supports project.
• Scollard DoyleminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerClient representative for Circle Voluntary Housing Association on Richmond Place project.
• Ganson Building and Civil Engineering Contractors LtdminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMain contractor on Richmond Place Inchicore elderly housing project.
• JSD ContractingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMain contractor on Irish Naval Service Headquarters (Block 9) project and Shackleton Museum.
• O'Shea ConstructionminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerContractor partnership on Haulbowline Block 8 project.
• Conservation LetterfrackminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConservation specialist working on Shackleton Cabin restoration.
• Carraig ConsultancyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerQuantity surveying on Project Arts Centre Masterplan.
• UrbanLab (NUIG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for urban planning analysis on Nun's Island Theatre project, identifying the area as an Innovation & Creativity District.
• Malone O'ReganminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngineering consultancy on Collins Barracks official opening.
• JSD ContractingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerContractor managing Shackleton Cabin relocation from Letterfrack to Athy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• McCullough Mulvin Architects: Dublin-based architecture practice of comparable size with a similarly strong emphasis on conservation, cultural/heritage buildings, and civic projects in Ireland — directly comparable to OBFA's conservation and museum portfolio.
• O'Donnell + Tuomey: Dublin-based award-winning practice known for cultural, educational, and civic architecture projects across Ireland and the UK — closely comparable in the cultural/museum and public-sector segment where OBFA is active.
• Grafton Architects: Dublin-based practice with global recognition for cultural, institutional, and public-facing architecture — comparable on cultural/institutional project type and Irish base, though at materially larger scale and profile.
• heneghan peng architects: Dublin-based practice with strong cultural, institutional and large-scale public-architecture portfolio — directly comparable in cultural and public-sector client work, serving many of the same institutional client archetypes.
• Clancy Moore Architects: Dublin-based practice working across housing, conservation, and adaptive reuse with a similar design-led and community-engaged approach — closely comparable scale and project type-mix to OBFA.
• Scott Tallon Walker: One of Ireland's largest established architectural practices with comparable work across healthcare, housing, cultural, and civic briefs — a relevant peer for both overlapping client base and similar public-sector project types.
• Paul Keogh Architects: Dublin-based practice with comparable strengths in housing, conservation, and community-oriented public projects — a similar-sized Irish peer working on local-authority and adaptive reuse briefs.
• de Blacam and Meagher: Long-established Irish practice with deep conservation and residential expertise, including adaptive reuse and housing — directly analogous to OBFA's heritage and social-housing specialism.

Broad incumbents

• Buchan Group: Larger established Irish architecture practice with a broader portfolio including housing, civic, healthcare, and masterplanning — a broader incumbent operating in overlapping client segments and project types.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/obfa_architects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/obfa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

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 OBFA Architects