Busarus to bathrooms: architecture stars open to public for weekend

In London they tag it Architecture in the Flesh and that describes what Open House is all about.

Once a year in London and New York, hundreds of architecturally significant buildings are opened up to the public.

They range from classical icons to contemporary paragons. While architects will, naturally, go and see what their peers and forebears have been up to, this building fest is not aimed at architects: Open House is for the public.

In two weeks' time - from October 20th to 22nd - Open House will take place in Dublin for the first time and it shares the same ethos.

"Our central mission is to bring architecture to everyone," says Antoinette O'Neill, of the Irish Architecture Foundation, which is organising the event.

"People feel comfortable with literature and some of the arts and yet they don't feel they have a voice when it comes to architecture. We want people to feel comfortable talking about architecture.

"Open House turns the city into an exhibition space and gives us a chance to think about the design of it."

O'Neill and her co-organisers who include Sandra A O'Connell, have started off with an impressive list of buildings to visit - and they hope to add to them in future years.

While some of the buildings are already accessible to the public, there will be increased access to certain areas.

There is also the chance to see buildings - including some wonderful contemporary houses - that are normally out of bounds.

Those who opt to go to the Dublin Civic offices - by Sam Stephenson (phase one) and Scott Tallon Walker (phase two) - will be given access to the traffic control room where you can, apparently, hone in on drivers' faces, although that's probably not included in the architectural discovery tour (unless they can find architects who are driving through Dublin).

Those who go to Busárus - by Michael Scott - will gain access to the rooftop restaurant.

Other fantastic views will be afforded to those who go to the impressive Clarion Quay penthouse, where the apartments were designed by Urban Projects, a collaboration between architects Gerry Cahill, Derek Tynan and Michael McGarry.

Normally out of bounds are houses and so access to these will be valuable.

Many of those interested in design will have seen pictures of the houses and will get the chance to compare them with reality.

As Victoria Thornton, founding director of Open House in London, says: "Experiencing a building in the flesh, inside and out, can help you understand it, assess it, in a way you never could from a picture. If Open House can get Londoners to care passionately about their city and its future buildings, we will really have achieved something."

That passion is something that O'Neill hopes to engender in Dublin.

All credit must go to those who are prepared to open their houses to the public (and some require advance booking so they can get a feel for numbers) for they are definitely worth visiting. While the Long House in Percy Lane - by Grafton Architects - looks good in photographs, it is wonderful in the flesh.

It's a very warm and bright space and will no doubt inspire anyone who wants to build a new home in a back garden.

A house by Ger Carthy of Grafton Architects, and his wife Eva Byrne, offers another great lesson in how to build a bright, friendly, chic house in a Dublin garden.

Another group of buildings that created much media interest was three Rathmines houses in a row designed by three architects who live in two of them. This will offer another chance to compare photographs with reality and the houses show how differently people can treat three similar spaces. And they're all inventive and stylish.

The house above architects' Donaghy and Dimond's office is interesting because it's a conversion of a period home: a bathroom hanging off the back of the house and tactile plywood walls upstairs show a new way of thinking when it comes to dividing space.

Much of the house has been treated with organic paints and varnishes so visitors will see how these can work.

Temple Cottages in north Dublin, by Boyd Cody, also shows how period homes can be converted into bright, pared spaces.

The organisers stress that Open House is for those interested in design rather than those who just like to see how other people live: they're hoping that the latter will stick to visiting houses that are for sale.

While the citywide architecture exhibition will give an insight into contemporary architecture it will also offer the chance to see the interiors of classical buildings.

While Dubliners often see James Gandon's work, in the form of the Four Courts and Custom House, they will be able to go inside the King's Inns during Open House weekend.

They can also see nearby buildings such as the Bluecoats School and 10 Henrietta Street, owned by the Sisters of Charity, which has been recently restored.

Open House has been divided into areas of Dublin, so you could opt for a neighbourhood, such as Temple Bar, Trinity College, or the Liberties, or zigzag across the city nailing down your must-sees.