He was born in 1972 and graduated from the University of Queensland in 1995 with a Bachelor of Architecture, and in 2006 with a Masters of Philosophy (Architecture). In 2005 he initiated Sep Yama/Finding Country with Michael Markham and directed the independent collateral event Finding Country Exhibition at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale, 2012. He established Kevin O'Brien Architects (KOA) in 2007 in Brisbane. Between 2009-2011 he designed and built the Archibald Street House with Susan Ellison. The house was built around the Indigenous and European traditions of its inhabitants. In 2013 he was appointed Professor of Design, School of Design, Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology.