Open House Dublin: Design Meets Architecture

Design meets architecture at Open House Dublin! Visit design shops, creative studios and co-working spaces, or even head on a graphic design walking tour with 100 Archive.

ALPHABET STREETS: GRAPHIC DESIGN IN THE CITY 

Join the 100 Archive, Ireland’s contemporary graphic design archive, to explore how graphic design intersects with architecture and interior design to shape spaces across the city. Join this fantastic walking tour on Sunday 15 October at 12.30pm.

ARRAN STREET EAST

Arran Street East is a renovation and fit out of an 18th Century Dutch Billy building in Dublin’s Market quarter, which now serves as a pottery studio. Reflecting the simplicity of the Arran Street East aesthetic, the palette of materials introduced is restrained and muted. Black steel-framed glazed screens fill the openings to the South and East. This industrial language is also used to separate the retail and production space, allowing light and views into the working studio. Visit on Saturday 14 October from 11.00am – 5.00pm.

THE TARA BUILDING

The Tara Building is a creative hub on Dublin’s Tara Street. Formerly a long-term disused office block, the site has been reinvented over the last year, with a bold mural by Maser covering the facade and interior space comprising of a co-working floor, gallery and event space, screen printing studio, serviced offices and rooftop garden. Having been vacant for a considerable period before being brought back into use, its original architect is unknown and rumours are rife as to its former use. Find out more by visiting on Saturday 14 October from 11.00am – 5.00pm.

FEX ON STAGE 

For one day only, the shop window of Fumbally Exchange, 5 Dame Lane will be transformed into a stage set. This will bring the diverse and eclectic activities of our Fumballiers into the public view in a series of 15 minute vignettes to inform, educate and entertain passers-by. You will see the Fumbally Fooles fantastic feats of juggling, live action acting auditions, fabulous floral creations and much, much more. Definitely one not to miss, catch the show on Saturday 14 October from 11.30am – 4.00pm.

CHOCOLATE FACTORY CREATIVE COMMUNITY DUBLIN

Henry Williams, a confectioner, and Robert Woods, a merchant, formed Williams & Woods in the mid-1870’s, on the site of the present-day Parnell Street Cinema, then Simpson’s Hospital. Through the latter part of the 1800’s the property extended northwards along Kings Inn Street. In 1908 a fire destroyed the building and in 1910 the new building, one of the first reinforced concrete structures in Dublin, now known as the Chocolate Factory was completed, custom-designed around the jam-making process. Along with this, the factory produced a variety of chocolates & sweets, such as Toblerone & Silvermints. In 1975, Williams & Woods re-located to Tallaght.

Having served a variety of uses since 1975, primarily as a File Storage facility, the building became the Chocolate Factory in 2011, and is now home to a variety of creatives in studios spread over 5 floors, including architects, furniture designers, photographers, film-makers, painters & fashion designers. Open on Saturday 14 October from 10.00am – 5.00pm.

Feature Image: JP Keating

Open House Dublin (OHD) invites Dublin’s citizens to explore their city as when buildings not usually accessible to the public and buildings of architectural merit  open their doors over the weekend of October 13th – 15th