2024 Programme, Placemaking, Reimagine, Workshop
Reimagine Café: This Place Makes Me Feel
04.10.24
11.10.24-12.10.24
Event Information
Event Information
New Life for Old Buildings in Limerick: Onsite Insight
Limerick, Ireland
11.10.24-12.10.24
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. Onsite Insight is the final of a number of Limerick based walks, talks, clinics, and site visits events in 2024. The 2024 programme is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
This weekend provides the opportunity to engage with essential financial and practical guidance and inspiration for those beginning their journey of 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.
1. ‘Living Limerick’ Walking Tour, Friday 11 October, 17:30-19:00 (free)
Discover how upcoming developments and public projects are setting the stage for Limerick’s future. Register for the Walking Tour.
2. Specialist Clinics Friday 11 October, 17:30-19:00, Hunt Museum (free)
Book in for informal chats and advice sessions with the Limerick Civic Trust, Common Knowledge, architects Michael Farrell & Caelan Bristow and local tradesmen. Register for the Specialist Clinics.
3. Presentations, Friday 11 October, 19:00-20:15, The Captain’s Room, Hunt Museum (free)
Presentations on advancing your ‘vacant property to vibrant home’ transformation with contributions from Common Knowledge and Design Goat’s Cian Corcoran who is currently renovating his own home and local architect Caelan Bristow specialised in adaptive and sustainable re-use. Register for the Presentations.
4. Site Visits, Saturday 12 October, 10:00-12:00 (€10)
Join us for site visits where we’ll meet first-hand the people of Limerick who are at different stages of converting vacant buildings into homes. Register for the Site Visits.
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 credit: Dermot Lynch for the IAF.
Cian is a designer, maker and co-founder of Designgoat Studio and Workshop Lead at Common Knowledge. Most of his studio days are filled with designing interiors and his workshop days are spent designing and fabricating bespoke pieces of furniture to fit into said interiors.
He grew up in a house that was always under construction and learned from his Dad at an early age how to both fix and cause problems. Cian is now passing on these skills to his own children in the renovation of their stone cottage in East Clare. He believes that confidence is the key to being able to learn and implement new skills, something he hopes to pass on to all Common Knowledge course participants.
Caelan Bristow is a registered architect in Ireland and has been involved in art and architecture for over three decades. Educated at the Architectural Association in London and the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles, Caelan has worked across various disciplines for prominent architects such as Frank Gehry & Associates (Los Angeles), Nasrine Seraji (France), and Don Bates (LAB Architects, Melbourne). Additionally, she has collaborated with renowned American artists including Bill Viola, Jeff Koons, and Peter Erskine.
Upon moving to Ireland in 1999, Caelan gained experience in eco-architecture through Solearth Ecological Architecture (Dublin). She now runs her own practice, incorporating these principles into a broad spectrum of residential and public commissions throughout Ireland.
In addition to her work in architecture, Caelan has been involved in numerous art and design installations. Notable projects include the 160th anniversary showcase of Art & Design at Ulster University Belfast (Project Manager), the Irish showcase at Dutch Design Week 2015 (Project Manager), and community projects such as Open House Limerick Education (2012-2017), Re-possession for Eva Biennale Limerick (2012), and Slowweave with Slow Architecture (2010-2011). Since 2022, she has collaborated with a community group in Kilcormac, Offaly, on a project celebrating the architecture and people of the Bord na Mona housing estate of St. Cormac’s Park, designed by Frank Gibney.
Recently, Caelan and her husband completed the renovation of a 200-year-old, 3-storey stone house in Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary, applying a healthy building approach with traditional and natural materials wherever possible.
04.10.24
30.10.24