Open House Dublin, 17th to 19th October 2014
Over one weekend, great Dublin buildings of all types and periods will open up their doors to allow citizens and visitors to explore the architecture of their city, with special tours by hundreds of professionals and enthusiasts, completely for free. Open House Dublin takes place from 17th to 19th October 2014.
Themed LEARNING FROM BUILDINGS, Open House Dublin 2014 is full of buildings that teach us something: about society at a given time in history, about the people involved in making them, and about the character of our city. Buildings sure to capture public imagination this year include: the modernist icon that is the US Embassy in Dublin 4, by architect John M Johansen, celebrating its 50th birthday this year; the show-stopping Air BnB European Hub in Dublin’s docklands, designed by Heneghan Peng; and 9/9a Aungier Street, the oldest most intact domestic structure in Dublin, currently being conserved by MESH Architects with support from Dublin City Council, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Heritage Council and the Irish Georgian Society.
Specifically on the “LEARNING FROM BUILDINGS” theme, the programme features a number of educational spaces, including an early look inside the eagerly anticipated dlr LexIcon, the official name for the new Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Central Library and Cultural Centre by Carr Cotter Naessens Architects; the stunning new Blackrock Further Education Institute & Blackrock Library by McCullough Mulvin Architects, which merges the sensitive restoration of three protected heritage buildings with a new structure and a complex high-tech specification; and Scoil Mhuire Óg Í in Crumlin by Mary Laheen Architects, where the primary schoolchildren themselves give the tours sand answer any architectural questions!
As well as building tours, Open House Dublin 2014 will include Open House Junior, a series of creative and lively events to enable young participants to play architect for the weekend, including hands-on architecture workshops in galleries and museums; and Open House Plus, a series of ancillary exhibitions, walking tours and film screenings about our city’s architecture, housing and more.
