A day in the life of ODKM Architects’ Declan O’Donnell

6am

Early start, get out of bed, and do some form of exercise to get the body moving whilst everyone is asleep! I’ll get the outfit ready for the day if I’m meeting clients… if not, it’ll be jeans, a T-shirt and a big chunky cardigan to keep me warm.

7am

Breakfast time. I have two daughters, Cara and Maggie, who will be up and at it around this time. My wife Jude will be sleep-deprived with the new baby (Cara), so I’ll tend to Maggie (4.5 years old) and we’ll have a bit of fun in the morning. I think she has my wife’s drama genes and can be full-on hilarious at this time of the day so I don’t rush us out the door. I’d normally drop her to creche around 9ish and then it’s straight into work… kind of!

9.15am

On weekends I’ll be in Farmleigh having brunch on the lake, but it’s a workday today and I’m driving in so I’ll go through Phoenix Park, which is my favourite place in Dublin. I know every single square inch of it. As long as it’s not raining, I’ll take my homemade coffee (still warm!) and go for a stroll, spot some deer and think about the plan for the day, or make a few phone calls so that once I get into the office, I’m ready to go.

10am

I enter work mode at the office at ODKM Architects and get straight at it. This can include design sessions, finances, business, sketches, work on the board or teamwork.

1pm

Lunch can be anywhere. The office is on Mount Street Upper, so we’d often stroll up the canal to find somewhere on Baggot Street bridge, or on Thursdays we’ll go to the market in Merrion Square which is right beside us. I tend to have a light breakfast, so at lunch, I am ready to eat.

3pm

As architects, we’re often out and about visiting sites and showrooms, meeting new clients or selecting finishes for a project so I tend to split my days into office days, or out-and-about days! Today, we have a bit of both so I’m in the car for a site visit.

5/6pm

Food is a big part of our household, so regardless of how busy work is, I’ll be home for dinner. If I need to catch up on something, I can do it later. I did my fair share of 90-hour weeks in London and we don’t encourage it at all in our practice. Work/life balance is everything, so we ship everyone out the door at 5pm!

8pm

It’s bedtime for the kids. This can go either way and can last anything between 30 minutes to two hours, so mid-week evenings are really dictated by how this goes…

9pm

One evening in the week I will head out to the Bective Mill, which isn’t too far from where I live, and it’s a beautiful serene country setting. There is a hot sauna on the river, and I’ll spend an hour dunking myself in and out of the heat and the cold water to reignite mind, body and soul. It’s a great decompressor and I feel amazing afterwards. I highly recommend it. 

10.30pm

With small kids, the days of the hangover are gone, but I enjoy the odd cold beer or cocktail when the timing is just right nearing the weekend. If we’re watching some TV, my wife will fall asleep after three minutes, so I make a call whether to break the code and watch it without her, or if there is something juicy at work I will make a call to work late. This is occasional and is reserved solely for pure creative design work on a project, as every designer loves this part of the job.

The day-to-day in the office can be eaten up by other people – meetings, clients, etc. – so I tend to look at some projects on my own after the kids go to bed. This can drift into the small hours if I’m not careful, but it’s quiet and peaceful and you can get lost in ideas and your creativity can flourish at that time of night. It’s actually really enjoyable (architects are weird!). I’ve always been a bit of a night owl through uni so I’m regressing back to my college days I think. TBH, bedtime can be any time between 10pm and 1am depending on everything above and how broken I am by the kids. Then it’s up and at it again at 6am for another jam-packed day.

Declan’s favourite cocktail

Declan’s Malfy cocktail of choice is a negroni.

Ingredients

• 35ml Malfy Gin Originale
• 25ml Italian Bitter Aperitif
• 25ml Sweet Vermouth
• Orange Slice

 

Method

In a mixing glass, add Malfy Gin Originale, Italian bitter aperitif and sweet vermouth over ice and stir. Garnish with an orange slice.

 

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