20.09.24-21.09.24
Event Information
Event Information
New Life for Old Buildings in Limerick: We Are What We Build
Limerick, Ireland
20.09.24-21.09.24
Booking required
New Life for Old Buildings is a national programme about the future of buildings that are already built. It is developed and delivered by the Irish Architecture Foundation as part of Reimagine, the IAF’s placemaking programme. Our aim is to empower people determined to transform Ireland’s vacant buildings into homes by providing opportunities for on-the-ground learning and knowledge exchange, building a national network of individuals determined to breathe new life into old buildings.
In 2024, the New Life for Old Buildings programme will take place in Limerick in partnership with our anchor venue, the Hunt Museum, with our launch event being held at the International Rugby Experience building. Our Culture Night launch is the first of a number of Limerick based walks, talks, clinics, and site visits events in 2024 and 2025. The 2024 programme is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
This weekend is an opportunity to launch New Life for Old Buildings 2024 and welcome the people of Limerick to be involved in our upcoming events. The Friday evening launch takes place on Culture Night and looks thematically at cultural memory and the built environment with a focus on vacancy, demolition, and contemporary city-making practice. This will be animated through a walking tour of Georgian Limerick, our existing New Life for Old Buildings archive, a formal launch of our programme, and panel discussion with invited speakers representing the diversity of perspectives needed for breathing new life into old buildings. This is followed by our Saturday morning site visits to meet first-hand with the people of Limerick who are at different stages of converting vacant buildings into homes. These visits offer a rare opportunity to meet homeowners and experts who have successfully transformed, or are transforming, vacant properties into vibrant living spaces.
Join us for a unique Culture Night experience as we launch our New Life for Old Buildings programme for Limerick in 2024. This evening, held in the iconic International Rugby Experience building, explores how cultural memory embeds itself within the built and vacant fabric of our cities. Through tours of Georgian Limerick and insightful panel discussions with thought leaders in city-making you’ll gain a fresh perspective on how we can breathe new life into old buildings in Limerick and beyond.
1. ‘Georgian Limerick’ City Walking Tour, Friday 20 September, 17:30-19:00 (free)
Explore Limerick’s Georgian architectural heritage with local architect and conservation expert Cáit Ní Cheallacháin for a walk about tour of where it all began. Meeting at the Hunt Museum and finishing at the International Rugby Experience building. Register for the Walking Tour.
2. ‘We are What We Build’ Panel Discussion, Friday 20 September, 19:00-20:15, The Dugout, International Rugby Experience (free)
Kick off your Culture Night with the official launch of our programme and welcome from IAF Director Emmett Scanlon and the Mayor of Limerick, John Moran. Then join us for our first talk series of the event where will be joined by a diversity of city-makers and thinkers as they discuss themes of cultural memory within cities through the lens of vacancy, adaptive reuse, and breathing new life into old buildings. Panel members include Professor Sally Stone, Jamin Keogh, Kieran Reeves, and the Mayor of Limerick. Register for the Panel Discussion.
3. Site Visits, Saturday 21 September, 10:00-12:00 (€10 for both)
If you’re in the process of bringing a vacant property back into use or just thinking about it, then join us for the first two site visits for 2024 where we’ll meet first-hand the people of Limerick who are at different stages of converting vacant buildings into homes. Each visit will be hosted by the property owner and/or a built environment professional involved in the project and will be followed by a nearby cup of tea and a chat. This will be a chance to swap tips, woes, and joys, and learn from each other. Held in the Georgian neighbourhood of Limerick City, meeting at The Crescent. Register for the Site Visits.
This is the first of three New Life for Old Buildings weekends in Limerick this autumn. Save the dates for
New Life for Old Buildings is a key part of the IAF’s mission to inspire new ways of thinking about the built environment and turning challenges into opportunities for community-driven change. We extend our gratitude to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for funding this programme and to all of our project and venue partners and contributors for making this valuable work possible.
Photo: New Life for Old Buildings Site Visit 2023, photo by Irish Architecture Foundation.
John Moran serves as the first directly elected Mayor of Limerick, and Ireland, a role in which he seeks to champion the city’s growth, development, and sustainability. Born and raised in Limerick, he has a deep connection to his hometown and has spearheaded the ‘A More Liveable Limerick’ strategy, focusing on reducing vacancy, improving housing access, and promoting sustainable urban renewal. Moran’s career is marked by leadership in finance and public service. He has held key positions at the Central Bank of Ireland, the Department of Finance, and the European Investment Bank, where his work contributed to Ireland’s post-recession recovery. His commitment to Limerick and its people drives his vision for a vibrant, inclusive, and progressive city.
Professor Dr. Sally Stone is a leading expert in adaptive reuse and innovative pedagogies at the Manchester School of Architecture, where she leads the MA Architecture and Adaptive Reuse programme. Her research and teaching focus on sustainable adaptation, heritage, the history of adaptation, and the disconnected yet similar approaches artists and architects take toward the built environment. Professor Dr. Sally Stone has been designing, drawing, formulating ideas and writing about interiors and adaptive reuse for thirty years.
Sally’s academic journey began in furniture and interior design in Manchester, followed by a decade of practice before transitioning into academia at the University of Cardiff. She earned her PhD from the University of Westminster and has since held numerous influential roles, including Visiting Professor at IUAV Venice (2022) and an upcoming appointment at the Berlin International University in 2025.
Her extensive publication record includes Inside Information (2021), UnDoing Buildings (2019), ReReadings Volumes 1 and 2 (2004, 2018), and Emerging Practices in Pedagogy (2021).
Jamin Keogh is a lens based artist, Dublin. He holds a First Class Honours Degree in Photography, Institute of Art, Design & Technology (IADT), a Masters in Art & Research Collaboration (IADT), & a first class honours Masters degree in Applied Social Science from National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM). Jamin has been involved with art practices as an artist, curator, & a visiting lecturer at numerous Irish third level institutions. During the creative process, Jamin draws inspiration & meaning from subjective human reactions to life experiences & merges audio-visual media into his photographic practice, placing an emphasis on the role of the spectator within the artwork’s space. This was demonstrated in the deeply layered psychological installation, All That Remains To Be Seen. Jamin’s practice is often infused by an everyday curiosity as well as sociological & philosophical discourses such as: Martin Heidegger’s theories of ‘Human-being & Art’; & Emmanuel Levinas’ theories of ‘the Face’ & ‘the Other’, & Henri Lefebvre’s The Production of Space (1974). Lefebvre’s argument is that space is not a natural given, but instead is an abstract, social construct based on economic systems, hierarchical power structures & the class system, which shapes human perception & limits agency & autonomy. The latter provides valuable insights into Jamin’s professional trajectory in the field of social justice.
Kieran Reeves is a professional qualified Town Planner with almost 30 years’ experience in Local Government. He is currently the Climate Action Coordinator for Limerick City and County Council with responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the Limerick Climate Action Plan, as well as being the Lighthouse City Co-ordinator for the H2020 project Positive CityxChange. Prior to this Kieran had a number of roles including preparation of the Limerick City Development 2010 and management of the Living City Initiative. Kieran has been the project lead on a number of innovative projects including “Small Business Innovation Research” to develop new solutions in respect of fire safety in historic buildings as well as examining new financial models to support building retrofitting. In 2022 he led Limerick City and County Council’s participation in the Bloomberg Innovation Training Programme where Limerick was one of 13 cities worldwide to participate in a bespoke innovation program targeted at local government.
17.09.24