This year the London Festival of Architecture selected Ireland as its Focus Country. As part of Irish Design 2015, a year-long international celebration of Irish Design, Ireland have created a programme for LFA that includes workshops and events across the city, including New Horizon, We Built This City and a talk titled Who’d be a Young Architect, (all of which we’ve got our toes dipped in).

Here’s a quick run down of Ireland at LFA:

New Horizon 1 to 18th June
Lewis Cubitt Square, King’s Cross, N1C 4UZ and The Tank, Design Museum, 28 Shad Thames, SE1 2YD
A collaboration by architects Clancy Moore, TAKA, Steve Larkin and Hall McKnight. Two temporary structures at King’s Cross will play host to talks, performances and events with other emerging talent in contemporary Irish design culture.

9 Lives

1 to 28th June
The Tank, Design Museum, 28 Shad Thames, SE1 2YD
Emmett Scanlon curates 9 Lives; a presentation of the work of the nine practices, who are participating in New Horizon internationally later this year, in the Design Museum Tank, a glass vitrine outside the museum.

RIAI at Vision London
2 and 3 June, 10am—5pm
Olympia Central, Hammersmith Road, London, W14 8UX
A collection of work is being exhibited at Vision London from RIAI, including a 7 hands exhibition as part of Irish Design 2015 and responses to their callout for Vision for the Future—Unbuilt Projects?

Drop in New Horizon talk
2 June, 1pm
Lewis Cubitt Square, King’s Cross, N1C 4UZ and The Tank, Design Museum, 28 Shad Thames, SE1 2YD
A curators’ walk-through the square and pavilions with the architects.

Who’d be a young architect?
British Council in Association with Architecture Foundation and Irish Architecture Foundation
4 June, 6pm
Red Pavilion, Lewis Cubitt Square, King’s Cross, N1C 4UZ 
Irish and London architcts compare experiences at the start of their careers and we ask if now is a good time to be young in architecture.
This panel discussion will look at the new ways young architects in the UK and Ireland work, if it is possible to identify a specific condition of being ‘young’ in architcture and how the preoccupations and concerns of young architects differ from previous generations
Speakers include:
Vicky Richardson — Director of Architectue, Design, Fashion, British Council
Ellis Woodman — Director Architecture Foundation
Nathalie Weadick — Director Irish Architecture Foundation
Je Ahn — Director Studio Weave

Drop in Nine Lives talk
Design Museum with Irish Design 2015
7 June, 11am
Design Museum, Shad Thames, SE1 2YD
Nine Live(s) tells the story of the design and occupation of nine workspaces, each of which has been designed by an emerging Irish architect. These activities will give a unique insight into the installation and the social lives of contemporary Ireland, and their relationships with architecture and design. Emmett Scanlon talks about his work in New Horizon as an architect and curator of Nine Lives and Noel Bowler photographer, talks about his participation in the Nine Lives exhibition, as part of New Horizon.

Irish Architecture Walks + Talks London
O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects
9 June, 6.30—9pm
Saw Swee Hock Student Centre, London School of Economics, Sheffield Street, WC2A 2AE
Irish architects and Royal Gold Medal Recipients, Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey, will deliver special tours of their award-winning Saw Swee Hock Student Centre at the LSE, followed by a public conversation with Professor Kester Rattenbury.

Of Clay and Wattle Made
13 June, 11am
Red Pavilion, Lewis Cubitt Square, King’s Cross, N1C 4UZ
To coincide with the poet’s 150th birthday architects read selected works by W.B. Yeats in a pavilion designed by emerging Irish architects TAKA, Clancy Moore and Steve Larkin Architects as part of the Irish Architecture Foundation’s New Horizon initiative and the London Festival of Architecture 2015.
Speakers include:
Ian Ritchie, Director Ian Ritchie Architects
Elly Ward, Director Ordinary Architecture
Liza Flor, Co-founder muf architecture/art

NEWNOWNEXT
17 June, 6.45-9.30pm
Design Museum, Shad Thames, SE1 2YD
To mark the Irish presence at the Design Museum and King’s Cross, this London edition of New Now Next will bring together the four practices that are creating the Irish pavilion in King Cross for the London Festival of Architecture, delivered by the Irish Architecture Foundation and Arup.

Nine Live(s) Sunday Sketch with Irish Design 2015
21 June, 11am
Design Museum, Shad Thames, SE1 2YD
An expert tutor will to lead you through a range of drawing activities in the Design Museum, from architectural drawing to studies of objects in the collection. This June session will focus on Nine Live(s) in the Tank. A workshop for all abilities, exploring through drawing the theme of Nine Lives.
We Built This City
Irish Architecture Foundation in collaboration with Irish Design 2015 and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
June 30, 7-10pm
Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA
A lively panel discussion about the impact the Irish have on the physical and cultural development of London from historic to contemporary times. We Built This City is presented by the Irish Architecture Foundation in collaboration with Irish Design 2015 and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Image: Hall McKnight’s Yellow Pavillion at New Horizons