The Housing Unlocked exhibition showcases eight architect-led proposals to unlock housing potential in Ireland’s villages, towns and cities.

Installations tackle questions such as, How do we build affordable homes and resilient communities? How fast can we deliver low carbon homes? Can towns find extra housing in iconic buildings or vacant shops? How might we optimise quality of life in a compact urban block? Can we increase housing density within the edges of cities? Can church sites provide housing? How can we use untapped potential to solve housing problems in our towns?

Exhibitors include: O’Mahony Pike Architects, EWA Architects, David Lawless and Sophie Kelliher, Sarah Carroll and Tom Cookson, Donaghy + Dimond Architects, JFOC Architects, Stephen Foley Architects and Stephen Wall, McCullough Mulvin Architects, and their respective collaborators.

These installations are complemented by Dormant, a short video by data scientist Rudi O’Reilly Meehan that visualises the 2022 census data around housing stock and vacancy in Ireland. An interactive version of Dormant is also available through the Housing Unlocked website.

In the upstairs studio at the Science Gallery, the Reimagine Workers’ Villages exhibition celebrates the work and legacy of architect Frank Gibney and the contribution of the communities that were created through his innovative Bord na Móna villages. Built in the 1950s to house the growing workforce for the national peat industry, they represented a new departure in rural housing and continue to provide lessons in compact, sustainable design.

This exhibition delves into the social history of the villages, with video interviews and exhibition materials to give visitors a sense of what life in the villages was like during their time as Bord na Móna estates. We also invite any visitors with a connection to any of Frank Gibney’s worker estates across Ireland to share their own stories.

An extensive programme of tours, talks, debates and workshops is taking place alongside the exhibitions. We will be adding more public events through January and February. Keep an eye on the Housing Unlocked programme and subscribe to the IAF mailing list to keep up to date with the latest developments and be among the first to reserve your free tickets.

Visitor Information

Housing Unlocked and Workers’ Villages are on at the Science Gallery Dublin, Trinity College Dublin – EXTENDED until 17 February 2023
Open Tuesdays-Fridays 12-5pm, Saturdays 2-5pm

Free admission
Free drop-in tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays 1pm, Saturdays 3pm

Please note the Gallery will be closed for the holidays, 18 December-2 January (inclusive). We look forward to welcoming you back on 3 January 2023!

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 Housing Unlocked exhibition panel text are available via QR codes on the panels and on the exhibition webpages for the displays.

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.

Workers’ Villages is supported by Creative Ireland’s Creative Climate Action Fund, aimed at supporting communities at the heart of Ireland’s Just Transition process.

Video copyright Irish Architecture Foundation 2022. Produced by KILIG Productions.

Photo by Ste Murray of the Join the Dots installation by McCullough Mulvin Architects.