How do we build affordable homes and resilient communities? How fast can we deliver low carbon homes? How can we use untapped potential to solve housing problems in our towns? Can towns and cities find extra housing in iconic buildings, church sites and vacant shops? How might we optimise quality of life in a compact urban block?

Repurposing vacant banks across Ireland, adapting churches to include housing in Dublin city, innovative approaches to timber-frame modular construction, and a holistic approach to regenerating towns such as Mountrath in Co. Laois are just some of the ideas on display at the exhibition, which is the first of its kind in Ireland. Each installation has been developed by a team of architects and their collaborators. Proposals were selected by a Jury of national and international experts through an Open Call process that went out to architects to team up with professionals from a variety of disciplines and members of the public to submit ideas to solve housing issues in Ireland’s cities, towns and villages. The eight selected entries received €7,500 in funding to develop their proposal into an exhibition piece.

Visitors to the Housing Unlocked exhibition can view physical models of each proposal, along with photographs, maps, drawings and artists’ impressions of what the projects would look like if they were completed.

There are free, drop-in guided tours of the exhibition on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1pm and on Saturdays at 3pm. A vibrant programme of public workshops, seminars and talks is running throughout the exhibition period.

Highlights of the Housing Unlocked programme of events include the House it all work? series of 8 lunchtime talks with the exhibiting teams, Fridays 1-2pm; the 3-talk series Housing: A Timeless Challenge on 24 November, 1 and 8 December at 6:30pm; the Estate: Reimagine Session on 26 November, an afternoon of talks and workshops focusing on the role and future of housing estates; the Simms’ City symposium on 1 December 2022, which will explore the work of Herbert Simms, Dublin City’s housing architect from 1932 to 1948, who built 17,000 homes; and the Housing in Common workshop on 2 February 2023, which will bring together a group of people, representative of wider society, to deliberate on housing issues.

All events are free and take place in the Science Gallery Dublin.

Visit the Housing Unlocked website to read more about the exhibition and programme of events and to book your tickets.

Visitor information:

Open Tuesday-Friday 12-5pm, Saturday 2-5pm

Free admission, no booking required

Free, drop-in tours Tuesday and Thursday, 1pm and Saturday, 3pm

Booking required for special events, via the Housing Unlocked programme webpages.

(Closed 18 December-2 January)

Accessibility: Entrance is at ground level. Some displays are on the first floor. Please ask the gallery attendants to guide you to the lift if needed. Audio recordings of exhibition panel text are available via QR codes on the panels and on the exhibition webpages for the displays.

Additional tours are available for classes of third-level students in architecture and related disciplines. To book a class tour, email info@architecturefoundation.ie.

Housing Unlocked is a partnership between the Irish Architecture Foundation and The Housing Agency, sponsored by The Housing Agency with additional support from The Arts Council, The Land Development Agency, the New European Bauhaus, and venue partner Trinity College Dublin. The exhibition and public programme are curated by the Irish Architecture Foundation.

Photo: Home4Community model of 4 adjoining timber-frame modular houses, by JFOC Architects. Photo by Ste Murray.