In chapter 4 of Books Downstairs, come and hear  Des Fitzgerald and Rory Hearne discuss their recent books.

In The City of Today is a Dying Thing, Des Fitzgerald takes us on an urgent, unforgettable journey into the future of urban life, from shimmering edifices in the Arizona desert to forest-bathing in deepest Wales, and from rats in mazes to neuroscientific studies of the effects of our surroundings. Along the way, he reveals the deep-lying and often controversial roots of today’s green city movement, and offers an argument for celebrating our cities as they are – in all their raucous, constructed and artificial glory.

In Gaffs: Why no one can get a house… and what we can do about it, housing expert Rory Hearne urges us to think about the people behind the statistics, and shows us that there is a way towards a future where everyone has access to a home. Millennials are the first generation in Ireland to be worse off than their parents. Trapped in a game of rental roulette, stuck living at home as adults, and many on the brink of homelessness, the Irish housing crisis has defined the lives of an entire generation – and it is set to continue. With housing costs in Ireland the highest in the EU, the property ladder has been kicked from under thousands. So how did we get here … and how do we break the cycle? 

This is chapter 4 of Books Downstairs, a series of conversations on books about architecture, organised and hosted by the Irish Architecture Foundation.

It is free to attend, but space is limited. Book early to secure your place!

Reserve your place.

If you wish to avail of advance booking for the rest of the Books Downstairs series, please become a Friend of the IAF!

Photo: Rory Hearne