Brian Hierlihy received a Bachelor of Architecture from Carleton University in 1973 and was awarded the Page and Steele Scholarship and the Medal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC). He obtained a Masters of Business Administration in 1982 from the University of Western Ontario (as a recipient of Associates Plan for Excellence Scholarships).

He has also completed courses in construction management, architectural working drawing production, technical writing, historic roofing, historic structure scaffolding, conserving Modern heritage, and fire safety for historic places.

Mr Hierlihy is a member of the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA). He was a member of the Task Force on Computer Graphics, the practice ethics project, and the Practice Committee (for six years). He has been active member of the OAA Ottawa and Kingston chapters. His is a participant in the OAA Heritage Conservation Roundtable established to consider standards in this area of practice.

As a RAIC member, he was a founding Director of the Computers in Architecture Committee. For five years he represented both the RAIC and the Committee of Canadian Architectural Councils (CCAC) on the National Advisory Board of the National Master Specification.

As a Construction Specifications Canada member, he was the Ottawa Chapter Officer (Architects) for many years and a participant in the Masterformat 1985 review.

He is a member of the Association For Preservation Technology International (APTI) and has served on its Board of Directors. He is a peer reviewer for the APTI Bulletin. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP) and the Canadian Institute of Management (CIM). He has served as a Technical Expert for Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) pertaining to many construction-related technologies including concrete, enterprise heating, lighting, and greenhouse technologies.

Brian Hierlihy has served as a guest critic at the Carleton University School of Architecture and lectured at the Universities of Waterloo, Manitoba, and Alberta. He has presented papers at the RAIC, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, and APTI annual conventions, and conferences of organizations such as the OAA and the Ontario CAD/CAM Centre.

He has authored a many papers and reports and served on three National Research Council committees including the Working Group on Repointing Mortars. He was a founding Director of the Centretown Citizens (Ottawa) Corporation (not-for-profit housing) and the Student Design Clinic (SDC). He has served on the SDC Board for 30 years and teaches conservation and existing condition documentation to the students. He was a Director for Eastern Valley Heritage Foundation and as the Chair of the Spencerville Mill Restoration Committee for three years.

Mr Hierlihy was the first staff architect of the Heritage Canada Foundation and a project architect for Murray & Partners. In1976 he joined the Computer Aided Design Centre of Public Works Canada as a Research Architect. Before leaving PWC in 1979, he also helped establish the Solar Programs Office. In the following three years he completed his MBA and the start-up of a development venture, an architectural consultancy, and a software firm.

The consultancy became an architectural practice in 1983, focusing on programming, technology and contract documentation (primarily for heritage work). From 1992 to 1995 he was also a partner in the British West Indies architectural practice James Farrell & Associates (forced to close because of a volcano on Montserrat). In 1998, he brought together five local practices and two consultants to form CSV Consultants Inc., Architects. As the Managing Director, he saw the firm through its start-up and a commitment to heritage work. In 2001, he organized PTAH Consultants, a practice focused on heritage conservation and stewardship issues.