People build cities, but cities build people too. This year Open House Dublin delights in and debates the everyday and energetic exchange between Dublin and the people who build it. Dublin is a city and county built of rooms, buildings, streets, railways, pitches, parks and more. Together, these built parts of Dublin shape and guide the public and private lives of nearly one and a half million people. In turn, the city is formed and changed by millions of individual imaginations, countless conversations, and ordinary, daily actions. Through visits, talks, tours, lectures, workshops, podcasts and more, Open House Dublin will reveal how Dublin and people reflect and depend on each other. When it comes to Dublin, we are in it, together.
This year we are proud to be part of Open House Europe, a project co-funded by the European Union. The project will embrace a more inclusive debate about architecture and strengthen the role of architecture as a positive change-maker addressing relevant social and environmental challenges. In 2023 along with twelve partner cities, Open House Dublin will place a focus on sustainability within the programme, highlighting sustainable practice through building visits, opening up discussions around our city as a socially sustainable place to live, work and play and inviting young people to use their imaginations to build a sustainable future.
We will welcome Open House volunteers from Milan, Brno, Bibau and Lisbon to Dublin this October as part of Open House Europe’s volunteer exchange programme and volunteers from Dublin will take their skills and experience to our partner cities.
Open House Dublin is brought to you by the IAF – Irish Architecture Foundation
Established in 2005, the IAF is an independent organisation dedicated to the promotion of architecture as culture. We encourage people to engage with their built environment, to inspire new ways of thinking about architecture. The Irish Architecture Foundation is a vibrant and passionate organisation that seeks to champion the power of architecture to transform lives and improve the places where we live, learn, work and play. Through a dynamic programme of activity, we inspire people to understand and shape their world.
Become an IAF Friend
We deliver programmes to all ages nationally and create innovative and exciting events like Open House that keep Architecture at the forefront of Ireland’s cultural landscape. IAF Friends are the heart of what we do. You can support the IAF as an individual or a company.
Choose the IAF Friends Plan that suits you and enjoy the benefits of being part of one of Ireland’s most exciting and original cultural organisations. Or spread the love and give the gift of IAF Friendship, and inspire your friends and family with the gift of a whole year of unique IAF experiences.
Learn more about the IAF and support the work we do
The Irish Architecture Foundation is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage and the Office of Public Works.
All Open House events are Free of charge. Our programme is a mix of guided tours and events that need to be pre-booked on the website and guided tours and events which are open for you to join at dedicated times over the weekend. Booking opens 14 September.
Contact Open House Dublin
You can contact the Open House team by phone at +353 (0)1 8747203 or bookings@architecturefoundation.ie
For any volunteer queries email volunteers@architecturefoundation.ie
This project, co-funded by the European Union will embrace a more inclusive debate about architecture and strengthen the role of architecture as a positive change-maker addressing relevant social and environmental challenges. The launch event was hosted by the project coordinator, Architektūros fondas, at the National Gallery of Art in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 3 March. Open House Europe was initiated by 11 European cultural organisations that annually organise 12 Open House festivals in Athens, Bilbao, Brno, Dublin, Essen, Lisbon, Milan, multiple cities in Slovenia, Stockholm, Tallinn, Thessaloniki, and Vilnius. The project will seek to include Open House festivals in other European cities and further knowledge exchange by collaborating with the extended Open House Worldwide network.
This three-year project will focus each year on a new direction: sustainability, accessibility and inclusion, and future heritage. These thematic axes will allow Open House Europe to shape the agenda for a debate about contemporary and heritage architecture, its values and quality. The objectives of the project are to introduce collaborative modes of knowledge exchange, strengthen the position of cultural architecture organisations in the sector, promote education about exceptional examples of architecture and urban environments, engage audiences, and increase cultural accessibility.
The Open House Europe programme will introduce a range of new activities and events that will be organised across the continent. The project will include Annual Summits in different European cities, a Volunteer Exchange Programme, a digital platform, and a range of innovations in the Open House festivals. Visitors to the festivals – including Open House Dublin – will be able to take part in open calls for visual stories that will encourage them to explore and interpret the annual Open House Europe themes through their own experiences and knowledge gained during the Open House weekends. Keep an eye on our social channels for more information on how to capture your Open House story through our visual stories campaign.
