In January 2024, Hugh Kelly amalgamated his practice into Reddy Architecture + Urbanism. Building Ireland caught up with the company’s Limerick office director recently to hear about the transition, which has opened the door to larger-scale work across residential, healthcare and education.
Limerick is changing quickly. New residential developments are reshaping the suburbs, healthcare infrastructure is expanding and major regeneration projects are redefining how the city will grow over the next decade. For architect Hugh Kelly, it is an exciting moment, but also one that comes with enormous responsibility.
From the Limerick office of Reddy Architecture + Urbanism at Gardens International, Kelly is now helping to shape many of those conversations around housing, healthcare and urban development. After more than three decades working across some of Ireland’s most important public and private sector projects, he believes architecture today must go beyond aesthetics and functionality. It must respond to wider social, economic and environmental pressures.
That belief played a major role in his decision to amalgamate Hugh Kelly Architects with Reddy Architecture + Urbanism (Reddy A+U) 30 months ago, joining one of Ireland’s most established and internationally recognised architectural practices.
“I amalgamated my own practice, Hugh Kelly Architects, with Reddy Architecture + Urbanism in January 2024 and the transition has been really very positive,” Kelly explained.
“We share similar clients such as the Bon Secours Health Group, the University of Limerick and the Office of Public Works.
“So, it’s been a very smooth transition from one to the other, helped too by the fact that Reddy has a very strong culture of collaboration. They’ve shown design excellence through the many awards they’ve won over the years. Excellence in strategic thinking and high-level residential and master planning are their hallmarks.”
Founded more than 40 years ago by Tony Reddy, Reddy Architecture + Urbanism has grown into a major multidisciplinary practice with offices in Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Galway, Belfast, London and Lisbon. Employing approximately 300 people across architecture, planning, urban design and interiors, the company has built a strong reputation for large-scale residential, healthcare, education and commercial projects.
For Kelly, the attraction was not simply the size of the practice, but its broader approach to design and long-term planning.
“Tony himself has led the practice at strategic level too, and he brings a wealth of experience to the way we do things and the way we design,” he said.
“The practice’s strong culture of collaboration, design excellence and strategic thinking aligned closely with my own professional values.”
Kelly himself brings significant experience to the practice. Before establishing Hugh Kelly Architects in 2010, he spent over 15 years as a director with Murray O’Laoire Architects. Throughout his career, he has specialised in healthcare and education projects, building a track record across small, medium and large-scale developments.
Today, as director of Reddy A+U’s Limerick office, his focus is firmly on strengthening the practice’s presence across the mid-west while expanding its role in residential, healthcare and public-sector development.
“As part of this amalgamation, I was appointed Director and lead of the Limerick office and, since then, my focus has been on growing our residential, healthcare and public sector work, and strengthening our role within the wider Reddy A+U network,” he said.
“In Limerick, we have 15 staff and, overall, there are about 300 staff throughout all of the offices. This allows us to deliver complex projects while remaining agile and personally engaged.”
That combination of local knowledge and wider national support has become increasingly important as projects grow more ambitious and technically demanding. Kelly says being part of a larger organisation allows the Limerick office to tackle developments involving more complicated sites, phased construction and multidisciplinary collaboration.
“Because we’re a new practice, we have a lot of new work and the scale of Reddy A+U allows us to embrace larger projects than those I worked on over the past 14 years of my own practice,” he explained.
“We’re currently working on Greenpark Housing on the Dock Road, which is a mixture of apartments, semi-detached houses and duplexes.
“We just lodged planning for a 403-apartment scheme at the Horizon site on the Dublin Road, and we are currently working on a student housing project which will also be going to planning in the next quarter.”
He says the move into larger projects has shaped and transformed the Limerick office’s work.
“Because I’m in a larger practice now, my work involves more complex sites, live environments and a lot of phasing to realise projects. The Limerick office also supports our Dublin colleagues working on Ireland’s largest mixed-use project — Glass Bottle, Sandymount Strand, a new urban quarter for Dublin.
“So there’s fantastic cross-office collaboration and support, which is a huge bonus. As a team of 15 people here in Limerick, we are part of a larger whole in the Reddy A+U practice with access to, for example, interior design specialist colleagues who have won many awards over the last couple of years.”
That collaborative structure is increasingly important in an industry where architecture is becoming more integrated with urban planning, sustainability and infrastructure strategy. Reddy A+U has developed a strong profile in master planning and placemaking, with a focus on creating connected, sustainable urban environments rather than standalone buildings.
The company’s reputation was further reinforced earlier this year when it was shortlisted in seven categories at the Building & Architect of the Year Awards, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on April 23rd. Yet despite strong business activity, Kelly says the wider development environment remains challenging, particularly in relation to housing.
“Business at the moment is strong across residential and healthcare,” he said.
“As you know, we completed the award-winning Bon Secours Hospital in Ballysimon last year. Conceived through close collaboration with our healthcare partners HOK, the €180m project sets a new benchmark in healthcare design, combining clinical excellence, patient-centred care, operational efficiency and sustainability.”
However, he believes the region’s continued growth is now under pressure from affordability and infrastructure constraints. “The challenge here across Limerick and the mid-west is that, despite having record levels of employment, Limerick continues to act as a prime economic engine for the region. However, this growth is increasingly constrained by housing affordability and infrastructure capacity,” he said. “Housing remains the most significant challenge, not just in Limerick but throughout the country.”
He added: “Housing prices and rent increases, along with the lack of rental properties, are really affecting labour retention, and people are moving further out, which means there’s more commuting,” he said.
“This results in very real challenges for both the public and private sectors.”
As architects increasingly contribute to wider urban policy conversations, Kelly believes experience and long-term perspective matter more than ever.
“The track record is very important for any client, and having a depth of experience across multiple sectors is an advantage,” he said.
“We have a very strong base in multiple sectors with years of collective experience. As I said, Reddy A+U has been practising for over 40 years and with that, naturally, there’s a wealth of experience and knowledge.
“Tony Reddy and the executive board of Rob Keane, Rory Murphy and Gareth Maguire very much lead the practice, and that depth and breadth of knowledge and experience inspires confidence in our ability to deliver a top-quality service across multiple sectors.” Looking to the future, Kelly sees major opportunities for both the Limerick office and the wider region.
Expanding the team, strengthening partnerships and developing stronger links with the University of Limerick are all key priorities.
“The goal here in Limerick is to grow the office,” he pointed out. “Like I said, we’re up to 15 people here and we’re keen to nurture links with the University, especially with the School of Architecture at UL.
“Our ambition is to be seen as the centre of excellence for master planning, residential, healthcare and education projects in the mid-west.”
The ambition is not simply growth for growth’s sake but building projects that contribute positively to the future development of the mid-west.
“We will expand our team here in the coming months and the focus will be on strengthening relationships with local authorities and clients. We want to deliver projects that enhance the mid-west,” he said.
At a time when Irish cities are grappling with population growth, housing shortages and changing expectations around sustainability and urban living, practices like Reddy Architecture + Urbanism are playing an increasingly influential role in shaping what comes next.
For Hugh Kelly, joining the firm has provided the opportunity to operate on a larger stage while remaining rooted in the region he knows best — helping design not just buildings, but helping to shape the future direction of the mid-west itself.
Reddy Architecture + Urbanism
Limerick office:
Gardens International,
19 Henry Street,
Limerick,
V94 01W7
Tel: + 353 061 276789
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, September 2026, Vol 12 No 9
