In late June 2023, Colm Murphy retired from the OAA after six years of service, having joined the OAA’s Practice Advisory Services (PAS) team in April 2017.
Colm graduated in 1972 from Dublin Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture. Before joining as an OAA staff, Colm gained more than 40 years of experience working with both small and large architectural practices.
During his formative years in practice (1973 to 1989), he worked on mainly housing and retail projects before expanding into institutional projects, including healthcare and justice facilities—many in joint venture with other architectural firms. As part of his managing principal experience, Colm developed and negotiated client-architect agreements, consultant agreements, and construction disputes. He also served on the CSA committee on healthcare standards and various OAA committees.
Beyond assisting in supporting OAA’s Practice Hotline, Colm worked on RFP Reviews for members and clients, helped develop the new OAA 2021 Contract Suite, and offered staff support on the professional coordination file with Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO).
More recently, he led an OAA Advisory Group that participated in a public review of the new CSA-Z252 Volumetric Modular Construction–Guide to Compliance and Approval Processes.
"In my work with the OAA, Colm says, "I enjoyed not only talking to members on the Practice Hotline and supporting them with queries regarding OAA regulations, but also, in particular addressing their concerns with everyday practice issues."