The Open House Dublin free festival of architecture returns to the capital from 11th-19th October.
Brought to you by the Irish Architecture Foundation, the festival celebrates great architecture, urban design and the people who make it happen. Architect, curator, and director of the Irish Architecture Foundation Emmett Scanlon introduces this year's (open) house party...
At its heart, a festival of architecture is about the stories that bind people and place. For 20 years, Open House Dublin has invited the people of Dublin City and County to explore and experience their built environment- past, present, and future, through an engaging programme of events, talks and tours.
This year's festival theme of 'Future Heritage’ celebrates this while calling on society to rethink how we value and care for our heritage, our future, and our role within it.
to our built environment and the contradictions that come with them.'
Year after year, Open House Dublin reveals the value and impact excellent architecture and design have on all our lives, and this year’s programme is no different, packed with conversations, tours, workshops, and exhibitions that give access to the stories of Dublin’s past, present, and future.
Architecture is more than buildings; it’s a living reflection of who we are and who we are becoming. In this period of global challenge, amidst housing shortages, demolition, vacant buildings, and rising climate issues, which stir an appetite for change, it’s more vital than ever that we come together to share ideas, imagination, and knowledge to help us to continue forming a thriving built environment. Our ‘Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea’ conversation series does this by bringing international speakers to Ireland to share their work on identity, reuse, collaboration, queerness, and contested territories in our built world today. Nurturing the importance of community involvement, our Open Table series empowers people to participate in expert-led discussions on what really matters to those who live and work in Dublin.
Open House Dublin celebrates our great architecture and urban design, and champions the thousands of people that contribute to the culture, creation, and care of Dublin
With the future of Dublin in mind, IAF’s Open House Junior engages young minds by offering children and young people a seat at the table to share their stories and connect with Dublin. The younger generation’s lived experiences and insights are invaluable contributions to our evolving built heritage, reflecting the values and aspirations of future communities. From a playful workshop with artist Asbestos that inspires children to envision a future city, to an interactive workshop at George’s Place that allows young people to participate in the design for the reuse of buildings, the programme is designed to cultivate a sense of responsibility and care for the built environment.
excellent architecture and design have on all our lives.'
Serving as the focal point of the visual campaign for this year's festival, O’Connell Street embodies the power of the stories linked to our built environment and the contradictions that come with them. For some, the street’s untapped potential is endless. For others, tourists and public transport users, it’s a point of departure or arrival. Both a monumental site and one of ordinary everyday life, the street endlessly gestures forwards and backwards in time reflecting the living past, present, and future of Dublin.
Open House Dublin celebrates our great architecture and urban design, and champions the thousands of people that contribute to the culture, creation, and care of Dublin ─ and you’re one of them. Join us this October to recount Dublin’s stories and put forward yours.
The Open House Dublin free festival of architecture takes place 11th-19th October - find out more here
