Yvonne Farrell graduated from the School of Architecture in University College Dublin in 1974, where she began teaching in 1976. She lectures and teaches internationally. She is Visiting Professor in the Accademia di architettura in Mendrisio, Switzerland and Kenzo Tange Visiting Professor in the Graduate School of Design in Harvard. Together with Shelley McNamara , she is a co-founder of Grafton Architects, established in 1978 and founder member of Group ‘91 Architects, winners of the International Competition for the Regeneration of Temple Bar, Dublin. Work includes educational buildings in Trinity College, University College Dublin and the University of Limerick; Government Department offices, Dublin; numerous Department of Education & Science schools, cited in OECD school design publications.

In 2002, Grafton Architects won an international competition for a new 500,000 square foot building for Bocconi University, Milan, completed in 2008. Recently, they won a competition for a new School of Economics for the University of Toulouse, France.

Grafton Architects won World Building of the Year, Award 2008 for the Bocconi University Project and were one of the five Finalist for the Mies van der Rohe Award 2008. Numerous Awards, include the Architectural Association of Ireland’s Downes medal. Exhibitions include: Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland 1999; Milan Urban Centre 2002; Mies van der Rohe Award Exhibition 2003; Bergamo , Rome 2006; Dessa Gallery, Ljubljana 2006 ; Lisbon Triennale 2007; Venice Biennale 2002 + 2008 Publications include: Architecture Profile 3 [ Gandon Editions, 1999 ], Rivista Tecnica ; Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary Architecture; Domus ; AREA; Architecture Ireland; Baumeister; Casabella ; Materia; Werk, Bauen + Wohnen ; Le Visiteur ; arqa 65; ‘A crystal heart for Milan’ , Domus publication.