Open House Dublin aims to open eyes and minds to architecture

The theme of this year's Open House Dublin, Ireland's biggest architecture festival, is This Place We Call Home. Organised by the Irish Architecture Foundation, the weekend event gives free public access to more than 80 buildings and encourages people to join tours and debates on architecture in Dublin from October 16th-18th.

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Open House Dublin, the public will be able to visit landmark social housing projects and get special access to the homes of some well-known architects.

“Our aim has always been to challenge a broad public to think about architecture in new ways and to understand its importance in all our daily lives,” says Natalie Weadick, director of the Irish Architecture Foundation.

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St Laurence’s Church by Grangegorman DIT

However, it's not all about glamour and glitz. "For our 10th birthday, we felt the need to tackle a hard issue. This Place We Call Home very simply asks three questions: where do we live? How do we live? What do we want to live in?"

Interestingly, the programme was launched in a Georgian building under restoration on North Great George’s Street which is itself open during Open House.

This year in advance of the Open House viewings, the Irish Architecture Foundation will host The Big Housing Debate: The Way We Live Now in Liberty Hall on Wednesday, October 14th.

Architect Michael Hayes, curator of this year’s Open House, says that, despite passing through a phase of unprecedented expansion, Dublin is struggling to provide enough space for its inhabitants. He sees a lack of vision, ambition and foresight to build a better urban environment as the root cause of the problem.

Hayes says the buildings included in this year’s Open House Dublin were chosen to highlight the structures which have altered our vision of the city, shaped how we live and which might inspire new ways of living in the future.

Quintessential Dublin

So, for instance, there are tours of 1920s and 1930s housing estates in Crumlin, apartments in Dublin’s docklands and social housing projects in Ballymun.

“The Dublin Corporation housing estates in Crumlin are part of the quintessential Dublin pebbledash aesthetic and Crumlin was the earliest and most extensive suburb built in Dublin to replace tenement housing in the city,” says Hayes.

“More recently, you can see more emphasis on the streetscape and the shared public spaces in apartment and housing developments in suburbs like Ballymun and in the Dublin docklands.”

A number of architects will also open their homes to the public during this year’s Open House. The home of architects Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey will be open as will the homes/studios of Carson & Crushell Architects and Donaghy + Dimond Architects.

A hardback book, This Place We Call Home, has been published to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Open House Dublin. It includes essays on housing in Dublin by Dr Declan Redmond and Michael Pike from the School of Architecture at University College Dublin.

In his essay, Pike suggests our distinction between houses and apartments has prevented us from developing forms of housing that are neither houses nor apartments. “It’s clear that we are in dire need of new forms of low-rise, high-density housing that will enable us to intensify our existing neighbourhoods,” he writes.

A series of insightful quotes are also scattered through the book. Seán O’Leary, executive director of the Irish Planning Institute, says: “We have seen the consequences of what happens when speculation trumps sustainability and when evidence is ignored. The best place to build the homes of the future isn’t always going to be where the most profit can be made.”

Dr Lorcan Sirr, lecturer in housing at DIT, says: “We need to make housing affordable rather than helping people afford housing. The issue is whether we have the guts to implement the changes required of us.” John Mahon, founder of The Locals, says: “Apps such as Pinterest and Instagram have propagated an awareness of aesthetic detail across a wide audience who might otherwise have felt design is not for them.”

It is this broad audience Open House hopes to reach this year in its photographic competition on Instagram and Twitter.

What's worth a look . . .

College Green apartments: Former storage and attic space in this former banking headquarters, there are eight luxury apartments and a rooftop terrace with great views.

Bachelor's Walk apartment: This former shoebox two-bed has been remodeled as a stylish studio apartment.

York Street housing: Based on ecological design principles, this social housing scheme has 66 low-energy sustainable apartments and a community creche.

5 South Leinster Street: This 18th century townhouse has spectacular neoclassical plasterwork and Egyptian-style interiors. In 2002, it was incorporated into the Millennium Wing of the National Gallery of Ireland.

Busáras: Built from reinforced concrete with Portland stone cladding and decorated with mosaics, this bus station is one of the landmarks of the international modernist style in Ireland.

Number 31: A Georgian mews owned and converted by architect Sam Stephenson for his home, 31 Leeson Close is now a guesthouse.

Tyrone House: Deemed to be the first big house built entirely in stone by Richard Castle in 1740, this classical-style building was restored by the Office of Public Works in 2003 and is now home to the Department of Education and Skills.

Jesuit Community Residence: Redesigned by Scott Tallon Walker Architects, these two gently curved buildings incorporate a nursing home and accommodation overlooking the gardens and grounds of adjoining Gonzaga College.

Airbnb European HQ: The Watermarque Building on South Lotts Road, Ringsend was designed by Heneghan Peng Architects and incorporates a series of open and collaborative workspaces inspired by Airbnb apartments around the world.

Barrow St: This high-density housing project includes 29,000sq m of commercial offices for Google, 645 apartments, houses and duplex units and 1,500sq m of retail space.

Most buildings are viewed on a first-come, first-served basis. However, email registration before October 8th is required for some buildings with limited access. Pick up a copy of the programme in public libraries or at the Open House Info Hub within the Love & Robots Pop-up Shop in the Fumbally Exchange, 5 Dame Lane from October 5th.

architecturefoundation.ie/openhouse