Arch. Brendan MacFarlane

Brendan MacFarlane, born in New Zealand, graduated from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (Sci-Arc) (1984), received his master degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design (1990). In 1998, he and Dominique Jakob co-founded Jakob+MacFarlane – an architectural, urban planning and design practice centred on the development of innovative and socially committed architecture tailored to meet the environmental and other challenges of the 21st century. At the forefront of digital technology for more than 20 years, the multi-cultural, multidisciplinary practice is renowned for the designs that become true urban markers recognised for their cultural and societal value and known for their unique architectural presence.
Brendan has taught at the Bartlett School of Architecture and the Architectural Association, the Special School of Architecture (Paris), the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and the Sci-Arc. Jakob+MacFarlane are initiators of the French chapter of ‘Architects Declare Climate & Ecological Emergency’ and twice winners of the C40 Reinventing Cities competition with the Energy Plug project in France and the Living Landscape in Iceland. They exhibit their work internationally, the most recent examples being the 2021 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism and COP26 in Glasgow. In 2024, Jakob+MacFarlane won the competition to serve as Lead Curators of the French Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025.
In 2023, the French Ministry of Culture has awarded the Remarkable Contemporary Architecture label to the Museum of Contemporary Architecture / Frac Centre in Orléans, designed by Jakob+MacFarlane.