Patrick McInerney
Patrick McInerney is CEO and lead designer at Co-Arc International. With a background in retail and commercial architecture, a master’s degree in urban design and considerable experience in commercial, cultural, mixed-use and housing projects, Patrick’s passion for architecture is fed by an understanding of its impact on individuals and society.
As a senior partner of Co-Arc International Architects, he has gained more than 40 years’ experience as he collaborated in a leadership capacity on various projects throughout Africa including, Ghana, Morocco, Mauritius, Mozambique, Botswana and South Africa. He has won various awards, and received the South African Institute of Architects’s Merit award for the Edenvale Public Library and Mpumalanga Government Complex. The diversity of projects has afforded him greater understanding of the impact of architecture on different cultures, clients and professional teams.
As an expert in the field, he has served as an external examiner and visiting lecturer at the University of the Free State and the University of the Witwatersrand and, has made numerous contributions to books and magazines. Patrick has co-authored, edited and published two architectural monographs of important post-apartheid buildings in South Africa.
He sees each project as a unique opportunity to find the visionary in each client. To him, the client is key. Patrick is acutely aware of the trust placed in the architect and the responsibility he has toward the client in delivering a sound financial investment. He is motivated by a belief that architecture does in fact have a psychological and physiological impact on the lives of the inhabitants, and he is specifically interested in the way his decisions affect people; how they feel and act. Crucial to him is an appropriate response to community and nature, which adds value to clients and society.
Patrick knows that architecture is a creative pursuit, where insight into the client’s stated and unstated needs can create a profitable investment for the client, and a valuable addition to the city.