Visit Dublin’s architectural heritage this weekend

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.

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 objective of Open House Dublin is to feature the best of the city’s architecture – both historic and contemporary. Focusing on heritage buildings also demonstrates how good quality architecture stands the test of time and how historic buildings can be successfully adopted for new purposes. Among the highlights this year are the Bluecoat School (1773) by Thomas Ivory, which catered for the sons of impoverished citizens; Belvedere House (1786) with stucco work by Michael Stapleton and the neo-classical Kings’ Inns (1800).

The OPW are opening many of their historic buildings this year to the public including Gandon’s masterpiece, the Custom House (1780), Government Buildings and Iveagh House. The historic campus of Trinity College Dublin features strongly again this year with tours of Front Square, the Libraries and the popular Evening Walk, strolling by landmark buildings, while architectural historian, Dr. Edward McParland leads tours of the Provost House and the Dining Hall.

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. Open House Dublin is presented by the Irish Architecture Foundation.