Women in Architecture

RSUA Women in Architecture was launched in 2019 to provide support and inspire women working as architects and women aspiring to work as architects. It is intended that the group will provide a network for women architects to share their experiences, learn from and support each other.

RSUA Women in Architecture is chaired by Olivia Laughlin, Collen O’Boyle Trainor and Rachel Murphy.

Headline purpose

To support and inspire women working as architects and women aspiring to work as architects.

How will this purpose be achieved

Provide a network for women architects to share their experiences, learn from and support each other
Celebrate women in architecture and enhance their visibility, including promoting female role models, for example through an online presence
Identify barriers faced by women who want to work in architecture and focus on proposals to remove those barriers
Facilitate mentoring opportunities for women architects
Develop proposals, for employers and employees, that will help anyone seeking to return to work as an architect following a career break
Engage with other relevant working groups
Host events led by women architects but open to all

Public benefit

A more gender-balanced and diverse architectural profession will be better at attracting and retaining the best talent leading to better architecture for the public in Northern Ireland.

Membership and contact details

RSUA Women in Architecture Co-Chairs, Olivia Laughlin olivia.laughlin@samuel-stevenson.co.uk, Coleen O’Boyle Trainor coleen@whiteink.co.uk & Rachel Murphy rachel.murphy@consarc-design.co.uk

Name	Organisation	Email Address
Sarah Brady	Samuel Stevenson & Sons	sarah.brady@samuel-stevenson.co.uk
Jennifer Cromie	Lowry Building & Civil Engineering	jennifer.cromie@lowrybuilding.co.uk
Edelle Henry	McGurk Architects	edelle@mcgurk-architects.com
Olivia Laughlin	Samuel Stevenson & Sons	olivia.laughlin@samuel-stevenson.co.uk
Joan McCoy	White Ink Architects	joan@whiteink.co.uk
Clare Mulholland	Queen’s University Belfast	claremulholland10@gmail.com
Martina Murphy	Ulster University	m.murphy@ulster.ac.uk
Rachel Murphy	Consarc Design	rachel.murphy@consarc-design.co.uk
Coleen O’Boyle Trainor	White Ink Architects	coleen@whiteink.co.uk
Emer O’Neill	Education Authority NI	emer.oneill@eani.org.uk
Melanie O’Reilly	Melanie O’Reilly Architects	melanieoreilly@hotmail.com
Lisa Park	Studio Park Architects	lisa@studioparkarchitects.com
Aisling Rusk	Studio idir	aisling@studioidir.com

Meeting frequency

RSUA women in architecture will meet from 1pm to 2pm on the following dates:

1pm on Wednesday 24 February 2026
1pm on Wednesday 22 April 2026
12pm on Tuesday 16 June 2026
1pm on Wednesday 7 October 2026

The group also host practice visits and other events through out the year.

Find out more

If you would like to be added to a wider email list so that you are kept informed about RSUA Women in Architecture, contribute to on-going work and attend events organised by the group, please email Jude Faloon on jude@rsua.org.uk.

You can follow the group on Instagram and read some of the latest updates and relevant news articles relating to RSUA Women in Architecture by clicking here.

Useful resources

In 2025, RSUA Women in Architecture developed a maternity, paternity and adoptive leave policy for practices. You can read a summary here and download the policy template here.

Engagement

If you or your organisation wishes to engage with the RSUA Women in Architecture please contact Jude Faloon on jude@rsua.org.uk