Not just heritage buildings, Open House Dublin shows the best in contemporary work

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Following on from its incredibly successful inaugural year, the Irish Architecture Foundation is delighted to announce that the second OPEN HOUSE DUBLIN weekend will take place from Friday October 19th to Sunday October 21st 2007.

Up to 10,000 people took to Dublin’s streets last year to visit a diverse range of over buildings – from architect-designed modern houses and apartments schemes to historic properties and landmark public buildings. This year’s event will have a particular focus on living architecture – buildings that make up a living city – from our workplaces to our homes; from our administrative centres to our parks and public squares.

At the heart of the Open House event – which was established in London 15 years ago and is now run annually in cities across the world – is the concept that citizens explore their city’s architecture through building visits and walking tours. In many places, architects and students of architecture will be on hand to give an insight into the buildings and to help visitors experience our city and its architecture in a new and unique way.

The Open House Dublin programme reacts to new architectural developments and includes over 30 new buildings and events this year. Dublin’s youngest quarter – the South Docklands – features the award-winning legal headquarters Riverside One by Scott Tallon Walker and No 1 Grand Canal Square by DMOD Architects. Both buildings feature highly innovative glass façades and are examples of a new generation of office buildings. Contemporary new residential buildings include Gallery Quay, Hannover Quay, Reuben Street Apartments, and the Wooden Building.

There is also the opportunity to see some innovative residential architecture including Boyd Cody’s conversion of Three Temple Cottages for artist Robert Ballagh, Grafton Architects’ acclaimed Long House on Percy Lance and a contemporary mews house in Ballsbridge by architects Ger Carthy and Eva Bourke.

All events are free of charge, and only a small proportion will require pre-booking. Over the two-day event, buildings will be geographically clustered so that participants can explore them as part of a walking tour of an area or neighbourhood.