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Karen O'Reilly

Director

Working in professional practice since 2002 she joined JDA in 2012 with her experience in social housing making her a perfect fit for the practice at a time when it was looking to move into this sector.


After setting up our Liverpool base in 2014, her commitment to JDA growth and exceptional people lead leadership style resulted in becoming director in 2019. Karen now taking the lead on HR and IIP within JDA.   


With her specialist knowledge in social housing and community architecture, she is a champion of a people-led approach to architecture, where understanding and assessing social impact are central to the development and delivery of successful projects. Karen’s focus on people & community centred design has led to the successful delivery of a vast range of projects such as HAPPI schemes, Extra Care and retirement Villages.


Her expertise in designing for social & economical needs has enabled JDA to create sustainable, affordable and innovative housing solutions for some of the most vulnerable members of society. Karen's passion for care schemes has also been instrumental in developing bespoke solutions for our ageing population, emphasising the need for adaptable, inclusive design to enable our clients to live independently for as long as possible.


Karen commitment to design quality and her attention to detail has seen a number of schemes win a design related awards. The latest scheme Watch Factory Phase 2 is the most recent which has won 2 awards and is shortlisted for several more in coming months.


Karen has also taken on board the role of leading the practice through the recent changes to the Building Safety Act and is heading up processes and best practice in delivering Building Regulations Principal Designer Role along side her role as Quality Director for ISO developing policies and procedures for efficient project delivery. 


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