Open House Dublin is presented by the Irish Architecture Foundation, and since 2005 it has revealed to the public the city’s distinct and varied architecture by facilitating more than 300,000 visits to buildings. However, it is more than numbers, through Open House we are empowering people with knowledge around the impact of good design decisions in their built environment.

Increasingly in the programme, we are tackling big city topics through major public talks, tours, and debates – this year we will produce over 100+ events over 3 days that are designed to build a groundswell of interest in critical issues for the city.

This year’s theme is a ‘City in Motion’. Cities are in flux and undergoing much change, and we feel it most directly in Dublin. These changes are happening at all kinds of levels. Parts of the city are being developed for education, culture, residential and business, with new infrastructure and technology to support the progression of Dublin towards a creative and economic centre, with a growing mobile population.

Currently there are hundred and twenty cranes on the skyline, which will have a significant impact on the shape, use, size and flow of the city. It has always been a dynamic city of growth, revival and renewal, however the intensity of transformation is now palpable. The city is under great pressure to deliver many varied expectations, while also a place of great potential and aspiration.

The 2019 programme will reveal the rich creativity of current architects, the legacy past architecture and artistic culture. We will draw out discussions on the responsibility of a city, and of the people who plan, design, build, live and work in it.

As a city in motion we ask what kind of city do we want to live in?