Our Studio

Aisling Shannon Rusk
Founder

Aisling studied Art in Manchester before completing her studies in Architecture (with first class honours) in Aberdeen and Cardiff, where her award-winning student work was twice shortlisted for the prestigious RIBA Presidents Medals. She has worked in London, Edinburgh, New Zealand and Belfast projects with a range of scales. Prior to establishing Studio Idir she built her reputation locally undertaking a number of widely-published residential projects as a sole practitioner. Her PhD investigated spatial practices that build connection within the divided contexts of Palestine/Israel and Northern Ireland. She teaches MArch at QUB in the Streetspace Studio with Agustina Martire, is the inaugural chair of RSUA Women in Architecture and sits on the RIBA Validation Panel.  Aisling was selected  as one of the Architect’s Journal’s 40 architects under 40 in 2020.  She lives in East Belfast with her husband and two children.

Áine McEnoy
Architect

Áine studied Architecture in University College Dublin, graduating with Honours in 1996. She has worked for architectural practices in Dublin, Berlin and Belfast, and has a diverse range of professional experience. Áine worked for design led practices in Dublin, where she developed a love of the craft of making buildings, which included working on a number of award winning projects while at de Paor Architects and de Blacam & Meagher Architects, and at O’Briain Beary Architects where she consolidated practical skills of working on larger scale healthcare and residential projects. Following a career break (to raise her three children), Áine worked as a sole practitioner on small scale domestic projects while also teaching at the School of Architecture at Queen’s University, where she still contributes as a studio tutor. Before joining Studio idir, she worked at the award winning practice McGonigle McGrath in Belfast, gaining valuable experience in carefully delivering high design quality private dwellings, extensions and refurbishments, with particular attention to detail design and construction.

Katie Stringer
Architect

Katie studied architecture at the University of Bath. Graduating in 2015, she moved to Bristol to work at Keep Architecture, before moving home to Belfast in 2016 to complete her masters at Queens University Belfast (with first class honours), with a degree thesis focused on creating sensitive spaces that care for and respond to the health of the body and mind. Katie built on her experience whilst working at Consarc Design Group, before being welcomed into Studio Idir in 2019, and completing her Part 3 qualifications in 2020. Katie has experience leading and contributing to the design and delivery of residential, commercial, conservation and educational projects, as well as community engagement research. She has also provided illustrative and visualisation skills to a number of re-imagining projects, and in 2023 gained her Passivhaus Designer Certificate. Katie continues to use her artistic and crafting skills on a variety of personal projects within her local community in East Belfast.

Graeme Goudy
Senior Architectural Technician

Graeme studied the Built Environment with Information Technology at North Down and Ards Institute.  He has 20 years of experience working in architecture, gaining extensive knowledge on a wide variety of projects and sectors. Graeme began his career in Ostick and Williams Architects working on high-end pharmaceutical, educational and large retail projects throughout Ireland. He then worked in New Zealand for Catalyst Consulting on projects ranging from design and fit-out of office spaces to the restoration of a small timber-frame housing development in the centre of Auckland.  On returning home he ran his own consultancy firm for 6 years delivering bespoke drawing and BIM services, completing many new houses, listed dwelling renovations and the odd barn conversion.  He then worked with Calico Architects, assisting on a variety of high-end residential projects in London, an industrial facility in Hull and a state of the art office development in Belfast, before joining Studio idir in 2020. In 2023, Graeme gained his Passive House Designer Certificate.  He lives in the heart of the Ards Peninsula with his wife and young family. He has a strong passion for sport and is a keen follower of Ireland and Ulster rugby teams.

Liam Walshe
Part II Assistant

Liam studied architecture in University College Cork where he was also awarded a scholarship to attend Washington State University during his third year studies. His undergraduate thesis focused on adaptive reuse of vacant buildings in the town of Bantry, West Cork. Liam spent the next two years working for PBA Architects in his home city of Kilkenny, gaining critical knowledge and experience. He completed his masters of architecture at Queen’s University Belfast (with first class honours) where he developed a keen interest in conservation and rural architecture. Liam’s MArch thesis stemmed from his research into rural heritage and was based in Mount Stewart Estate. Using the estate’s farmyard as a test-bed for research into different conservation methods, he designed communal working and living accommodation within the existing walls of the farmyard. He was awarded the Charles Lanyon Memorial Prize and HERoNI ‘measured architectural drawing of the year’ award for his drawings, tribute to the care and diligence he gives to existing built fabric.

Aaron Vinaccia
Part II Assistant

Aaron Vinaccia is a recently qualified Part II Architectural Assistant. Graduating from Queen’s University in 2022, his projects focused on adapting built heritage and preserving our natural environments. His previous work within the charitable sector amplified these interests, firmly grounding his design ethos in sustainability and improving spaces for the public. His dissertation researched the impact of tourism on the built environment surrounding World Heritage sites and the knock-on effect that has on what this designation seeks to preserve, including the communities connected to these sites.

Lyn Gilbert

Lyn has a wealth of experience in Office Management having worked in a variety of companies like Guinness (now Diageo) KGB Design and Walker Communications to name a few over the years.

She has a positive can-do approach with excellent interpersonal and communication skills.  Together with her Office based qualifications Lyn completed her NVQ 1 in Beauty Therapy and also Reflexology.  She also gained valuable experience running her own Recruitment Company for 5 years specialising in recruitment for the Hair and Beauty Industry, a first in its industry for Northern Ireland.  Lyn is passionate about design and well being, and in her spare time runs a business making beautiful handmade, plant based candles and diffusers, called tulA.

Hannah McMath
Part I Architectural Assistant

Hannah graduated with first-class honours in Architecture from Queen’s University Belfast in July 2024. During her time at Queen’s she developed a strong interest in conservation, adaptive reuse, sustainable design and heritage, while also actively participating in the Architecture Society Committee.

Shortly after graduating, her project “Gablescape” was shortlisted for both the RSUA President Bronze Medal and the RIBA President Bronze Medal. The project focused on creating a material research campus in Ballycastle, emphasising the town’s architectural and industrial heritage and incorporating sustainable design strategies.

Hannah is deeply committed to the sustainable movement and the science behind improving the built environment, including material ecology. She has contributed to the QUB Enactus team, which leverages business to create social and environmental impacts and solve problems. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, both outdoors and indoors, and has a passion in art, which she hopes to integrate into her architecture career.

Conor Walsh
Architectural Technician

Conor studied Architectural Technology and Management at Ulster University, graduating with honours in 2024. He completed a year long industrial placement with JNP Architects, assisting on a number of large scale healthcare projects across Ireland. This enabled him to gain greater experience in technical design and BIM software. He was then commended by the university for his work completed during his time on placement. During his time studying he has worked on residential and education projects including a high rise mixed use development, with some of his work being used as exemplar pieces for future students. His interests lie in detail design and the refurbishment of existing / conservation buildings. Conor grew up in Bangor and currently lives in South Belfast. In his spare time he enjoys DJing and is involved in the local electronic music scene.

Grace Carney
Part I/II Architectural Assistant

Grace moved from Donegal to study architecture in Queen’s University Belfast in 2018, graduating with first class honours. During her time in university she developed a diverse range of projects, garnering a passion for adaptive reuse and sustainable design methods. Her final project work was featured in Dezeen magazine as part of Queen’s school show. Since graduating, Grace has worked with MH Associates in Letterkenny and Studio idir, gaining a wealth of foundational knowledge about the profession. She recently spent 6 months travelling in South-East Asia, and with the travel bug now fully in place, she looks forward to further future adventures. As well as architecture, Grace enjoys all things film and hopes to explore the connections between these two passions during her Masters which she is currently undertaking in Edinburgh, while continuing to work remotely, part time, for Studio idir.