Lego Competition & More at Open House Dublin

Open House Dublin will take place from the 12th-20th October, featuring 200+ events for everyone to experience free of charge! Guided tours of buildings, outdoor spaces and private houses, conversations on current topics, exhibitions, architects’ studio visits, workshops and more!

Many new events feature this year, among them a mystery tour of an OPW building, a LEGOⓇ competition, tours of The Wayfinding Centre located in the former Smurfit Kappa Printworks site on Botanic Road, Glasnevin, and tours of the award-winning Lark Concert Hall in Balbriggan, designed by Stephen Foley Architects and CAMPUS.

What’s On

This year’s Open House Dublin will start with a dedicated Junior Weekend for children and families on the 12th and 13th of October, with the main programme of events, including tours ofbuildings, outdoor spaces and residences taking place from 18th to 20th October. In between, the Open Table conversations series is returning and will take place daily from 14th-18th October at this year’s festival Info Hub at Charlemont Walk, in Dublin 2, which will also be hosting festival events. 

Key festival highlights this year include:

• Open Table: The popular lunch-time conversation series is coming back to delve into urgent topics relevant to life in Dublin, with guest experts hosting each of these five events at OHD Info Hub on Charlemont Walk.

• New Now Next at Open House Dublin: Open House Dublin is hosting a special evening in the Lighthouse Cinema on 19th October titled When Dublin Met Paris, with visiting guests Marion Waller, director of the Pavillon de l’Arsenal centre for architecture and urbanism in Paris and French architect Nicolas Guérin from NP2F-architectes, which designed the flagship venue for the Paris Olympic Games, the Adidas Arena. The audience can expect a compelling event that will touch on the possibilities of urban transformation in Dublin and myth-busting common perceptions of the city of Paris.

New events for this year include:

• Open House Extra at Charlemont Walk: Exhibitions specially designed for the Open House Dublin programme will be taking place in the OHD Info Hub from 12th-20th October. 

• Open Studios: Twelve studios and offices of architects dotted around Dublin city and county will be opening their doors to the public and giving behind-the-scenes access to how architects design Dublin and its buildings, between the 15th and 20th October.

• New Tours: Over 20 added tours for this year happening over 19th and 20th October, such as rhe Lark Concert Hall in Balbriggan, voted the public’s favourite building; Tún Architecture’s Harcourt Terrace Primary School; Glencar House in Ballsbridge, an office development by Reddy Architecture + Urbanism; 49-51 Amiens Street, apartments by Lawrence and Long and more. a walking tour with City Architects of north-west inner-city housing.

• LEGOⓇCompetition: A LEGOⓇ competition will run online as part of the festival, inviting children everywhere to get building, with special prizes up for grabs. 

• Mystery Tour: For people who like surprises, a Mystery Tour has been added this year of an OPW-owned building on 19th October.

Themed Events

Events that reflect this year’s Open House Europe access and inclusion theme are taking place including:

• Tours of The Wayfinding Centre, located in the former Smurfit Kappa Printworks site on Botanic Road, Glasnevin, on 18th October. Developed by Vision Ireland and Dublin City Council, it replicates the real-world experience of using public transport to empower people with an access need through practical training and hands-on experience.

• Tactile Tours with 3D Models for people with visual impairment, developed with architect Tadhg Charles and Emilie Conway, a visually impaired artist and art activist, will take place on 20th October at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland and the Museum of Literature of Ireland (MOLI).

• Tours of Graphic Studio Dublin featuring a collaborative art exhibition with the Simon Community of Dublin.

• Writing and Drawing in the City, a workshop exploring buildings and spaces through smell, touch, hearing, taste and sight.

• Irish Sign Language Tours will also be happening at several locations during the festival.

All Open House Dublin events are free. Pre-booking is required for some events. Pre-booking for ticketed events opens at 9:00am on the 19th September on www.OpenHouseDublin.com, where full details of the programme, including which events require pre-booking, can be found.