On Wednesday 14 October 2015, at Liberty Hall, Professor Frances Ruane chaired THE BIG HOUSING DEBATE, the opening event of the Irish Architecture Foundation’s OPEN HOUSE DUBLIN to discuss THE WAY WE BUILD NOW. In line with the Open House Dublin theme this year – This Place We Call Home – a panel drawn from architecture, academia and property discussed the where, what, and how we build – a crucial concern in the future development of Dublin. More than an issue of quantity and type of units, the way we build now will determine the quality of our city and its living standards for generations to come.

ABOUT THE BIG HOUSING DEBATE PANEL:

PROFESSOR FRANCES RUANE (CHAIR) Professor Frances Ruane is currently a Research Associate at the ESRI, where she previously served as its Director. She is currently a member of the Economic Advisory Group in Northern Ireland, the European Statistical Advisory Committee (ESAC), the Council of Economic Advisers in Scotland. She is an Honorary Professor in the Department of Economics at Trinity College, where she lectures on the MSc course in Economic Policy Studies. Frances Ruane is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and was elected an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College Dublin in 2010.

GERALDINE KENNEDY, RICS / SCSI Geraldine Kennedy is a Director of the Sheelin and Embassy Property Groups, who have developed, built and continue to manage many large scale developments in Dublin over the last 30 years, including Herbert Park Lane, Bushy Park House, Merrion Village, and Omni Park Shopping Centre.

CLAIRE MCMANUS, ARCHITECT Claire McManus is a member of the RIAI Council and the RIAI BC(A)R Steering Group and director of Open Architects, founded in 2005. Together with Dominic Stevens Architects she is developing a range of small, sensitive user-driven housing projects.

IAN MCSHANE, BEHAVIOUR & ATTITUDES Ian has worked in a number of research agencies over the last twenty-five years. He is particularly interested in the areas of Media, Communications, Branding and Political & Social Research. Ian is a current Council member and past Chairman of the Association of Irish Market Research Organisations (AIMRO), past Chairman of the Research Committee of the Marketing Society Council, and current member of the Marketing Institute of Ireland and ESOMAR (European Society for Opinion and Market Research).

DR LORCAN SIRR, LECTURER Lorcan Sirr is a lecturer in housing at Dublin Institute of Technology and Visiting Professor of Housing at the Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Tarragona, Spain.

KIERAN ROSE, PLANNER & HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER A graduate of UCD and UCC, Kieran Rose is a Town Planner and a Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. He researched and drafted the current Dublin City Council standards for apartments, a quantum leap in the quality of this type of housing (2007). He co-authored the Lord Mayor’s Commission on Employment report: Dublin: Working city; Learning city; Creative city; Open city; Global city, Liveable city (2010). Kieran researched and drafted the detailed submission to Government (2013) proposing the vacant land levy, which is included in the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015. He is co-chair of GLEN and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Yes Equality campaign in the recent marriage equality referendum.