This October, Dublin opens its doors for Open House Dublin, the free festival of architecture hosted by the Irish Architecture Foundation. Running from 10–18 October, the festival brings nine days of free tours, conversations, exhibitions and workshops to venues across the city and county. This year’s theme, Dublin Is Living, celebrates the people, places, communities and cultures that give Dublin its energy, shape its character and help build its future.
With more than 200 events on the programme, there’s plenty to explore, from tours of iconic Dublin buildings and contemporary projects to private homes, architectural studios and neighbourhoods across the city and county. Alongside the architecture, expect conversations, workshops, exhibitions and family events making this a festival as much about how Dublin is lived as how it is designed.
A City Powered by People
Dublin is more than its red bricks and mortar, iconic landmarks, parks and infrastructure. If Dublin is living, then people are its life support. The care we show for one another, the networks we build and the life of our local neighbourhoods are what keep the city moving.
This idea runs throughout this year’s programme. Alongside the festival’s much loved and anticipated tours, you’ll find conversations and events exploring how Dublin is changing and how we can make sure it remains a city where people can live, thrive and belong.
Open Table is a series of four lunchtime conversations taking place across Dublin’s local authority areas. Hosted by housing and urban design expert Lorcan Sirr, the Open Table conversations invite local people to share their experiences, local histories and ideas for the future of their neighbourhoods.
The conversations will then feed into the Dublin Is Living Town Hall at Wood Quay on 15 October, bringing together residents, local business owners, community advocates and people working across architecture, housing, health and planning. The conversation will tackle some of the big questions facing Dublin, from affordable housing and bringing vacant properties back to life to sustainable transport, safer streets, green spaces and protecting the cultural fabric of our communities. The Town Hall brings those local conversations together, with everyone in the room invited to have their say on the future of Dublin.
The Cultural Heart of O’Connell Street
Putting people and culture at the centre of the programme, O’Connell Street Cultures is an evening exploring the street at the heart of Dublin. More than somewhere to pass through, O’Connell Street is a living archive of Irish history, a reflection of the complex present and a canvas for the future.
Robert Watt of the Dublin City Regeneration Advisory Group, Abbey Theatre director Mark O’Brien, architect Denise Murray and Dublin Inquirer editor Lois Kapila will explore the communities, cultures and identities that shape the street today and imagine what stories might emerge as it looks towards its next chapter.
Architecture for Everyone
Open House Dublin offers hundreds of free tours to buildings, places and neighbourhoods across the city and county. Familiar favourites return alongside new additions, taking in everything from historic landmarks and contemporary projects to social housing, public spaces and private homes. Highlights include the newly opened TU Dublin Academic Hub and Library in Grangegorman, designed by O’Donnell + Tuomey, and the newly restored 11 Parnell Square, a Georgian townhouse transformed by McCullough Mulvin Architects to bring together heritage, poetry and contemporary cultural life. Alongside these, there are rare opportunities to step inside private homes and explore new and exciting buildings and places designed by some of the country’s leading architects.
For those interested in how the city gets made, Open Studios offers a look behind the scenes. Presented in association with the Architectural Association of Ireland, the programme invites visitors into studios across Dublin to meet architects, hear about their work and get an insight into the ideas, conversations and creative processes that shape the places around us. There are also opportunities for students, graduates and young practitioners to connect with practices and get a taste of life inside the profession.
Open House Junior
For families, Open House Junior returns on 10–11 October with hands-on workshops, creative activities, LEGO challenges and guided activity walks designed to get children and young people thinking about the city around them.
From exploring nature and the city to imagining how neighbourhoods can be shaped around care, the programme gives younger visitors plenty of ways to get involved and have fun with architecture. This year also marks the first Open House Youth Council, facilitated by architect Ailbhe Cunningham, bringing together 14–17 year olds to share their ideas and perspectives on the city they live in.
Join IAF in October
Open House Dublin is committed to making the festival accessible to everyone, with Irish Sign Language tours, tactile tours and sensory experiences included in this year’s festival.
From the buildings we pass every day to the communities, cultures and conversations that give them meaning, Open House Dublin is a chance to see the city as a place that is constantly evolving, shaped by the people who live, work and create here.
Come for the buildings, join the conversations, meet the people and see how Dublin is living.
Open House Dublin 2026 runs from 10–18 October. All events are free, though many require advance booking. Bookings open at 10am on 23 September at openhousedublin.com
