I doubt there's any real connection between the popular David Frost and Lloyd Grossman tv quiz show Through the Keyhole and the Irish Architecture Foundation's Open House Dublin 2009, but I'd like to think they're not worlds apart. From the 8th - 11th October the doors of more than 160 buildings around Dublin, from residential to commercial, from cultural to ecological, will open their doors to the public for free guided tours. It's a unique opportunity to see inside the architecture that surrounds us, and these are some of the buildings on my Open House '09 Wish List (photos via the Open House website):
Above is the A-Rated House in Rathmines, designed by FKLarchitects, so-named for the attention paid by the architects to environmental concerns. Below is the first terminal building at Dublin Airport, designed by Desmond Fitzgerald and completed in 1940. Along with Busáras and, later on, Liberty Hall (also on the bill), these fine examples of the International Style were hailed as being on par with some of the most iconic Modernist buildings around Europe. Unfortunately, WWII broke out and nobody outside of Ireland found out about them...
But here's the building I'm most looking forward to exploring. Donaghy and Dimond Architects, Francis Street, was on my route to and from college last year, and every day I tried to peek inside. Now I've found out it's not just an office, it's a home too, and on Saturday and Sunday morning I CAN ACTUALLY GO INSIDE!!
