Open House is our annual ‘through the keyhole’ moment when we get to peer behind doors which are usually closed. With over 170 free tours and events, it’s our largest architecture festival. We’ve selected a few highlights we are looking forward to seeing ourselves.
This Scott Tallon Walker building was completed in 1982. In order to make sure that all the offices experienced views of the Port, a bucket was attached to a crane and the architect was hoisted up to make sure that the views were up to scratch. More recently, works have been completed by Darmody Architects to reintegrate it into the city, linking it up nicely to the theme of this year’s Open House – Tomorrow Past: Discover our future heritage.
After almost five years of restoration and redesign, Kevin Street Library was officially opened last month. First opened to the public in 1904, it was built on a site adjacent to the now demolished Institute of Science & Technology (College of Technology) and the first librarian J.P Whelan stocked books to the suit the students needs. While the building appears unassuming from the street it boasts beautiful reading rooms that have been hidden from public view for many years.
Recently opened to much hubbub, 14 Henrietta Street is the work of Shaffrey Architects who will be developing our City Library in Parnell Square (see Roadmap). Built in the 1740s by Luke Gardiner as a townhouse for the Anglo-Irish elite, it was split into tenements in the 1880s and retained residents until the late 1970s. Tours will take visitors through its incarnations and stories between walls, floors, old gas pipes and 1970s fireplaces, noting authentic distemper, linoleum and wallpaper along the way.
While we still pine for some forward-thinking people to turn this into a club space and put Dublin on the map with Berlin, getting a close-up glimpse of the power station should be top on the priority of any Dubliners list. The vast ruin of the former power station is one of the most striking industrial architecture complexes in the city. Recent City Council plans are considering the creation of a creative and cultural ‘precinct’. A film studio is being considered, as is a large-scale visitor attraction. It’s also named after John Pidgeon, the caretaker of storehouse used by the builders of the Great South Wall.
Founded to care for the city’s sick and poor, with the original entrance elevation to Steevens’ Lane to the east. The hospital was arranged around a courtyard (smaller in scale than the nearby Royal Hospital Kilmainham), with a ground floor arcade wrapping the courtyard interior. The Worth Library, added in 1733 at the bequest of Dr. Edward Worth, is lined with its original glazed bookcases and Corinthian entablature. The hospital was remodeled for the Eastern Health Board in 1987 by Arthur Gibney & Partners and is now in use by the Health Service Executive.
All proceeds of Open House “Text to Donate” will go to Peter McVerry Trust. To donate, text OHD to 50300. Texts costs €4, and Peter McVerry Trust will receive a minimum of €3.60.
We are running an InstHouse competition in conjunction with OHD. Share your photo experiences of Open House 2018. Upload your best Open House Dublin images over the weekend using the hashtag #instahouse Each day we will select their five favourites with an overall winner selected after the weekend. Prizes include a €75 voucher from The Copper House.
