James O’Callaghan, the co-founder of Eckersley O’Callaghan, is widely regarded as a leading pioneer in structural glass. More recently, he has been crucial in designing the world’s tallest hybrid timber building: the Atlassian Tower in Sydney.

Ahead of his keynote at the Nordic Facade Forum 2025 in Helsinki, I had the pleasure of sitting down with James to explore the ideas that continue to reshape the built environment.

A Career Built on Curiosity
James’s journey as a structural engineer has been anything but conventional. While trained, he quickly developed a deep appreciation for architecture and innovative use of materials, particularly structural glass.

“Transparent structures highlight bad details quite well,” James noted with a smile. His attention to detailing has become part of the DNA of Eckersley O’Callaghan’s culture. Good detailing makes architecture. And that curiosity about detail, rigor, and materials underpins the company’s practice and his professorship at the Technical University of Delft.