To coincide with the Open House Dublin’s ‘City in Motion’, theme, Dublin City Council’s Conservation Section has selected the theme for the 2019 Conference as ‘Taking Stock’, where they will be looking at how we evaluate and value our present and future architectural heritage, including newly protected and proposed protected and unprotected structures, particularly from the 20th century.

Conscious of the current intensive development underway within the city and housing and commercial pressures allied with recent Government Guidelines on Urban Development and Building Heights, Apartment and Co-Housing Standards, and the implications of global warming and climate emergency, the replacement of existing building stock has become an everyday occurrence. The speakers will cover a variety of topics including the consideration of the values and significance of our existing building stock in the first instance, and the important role it plays in shaping the rich and varied cityscape in which we live. The conference will consider the environmental consequences of demolition, and present what DCC Conservation Section consider to be successful examples of a variety of schemes where the existing buildings have been/will be retained, repurposed and modified in response to the client’s brief.