O'Donnell + Tuomey at LSE

Late last year I began working in the Students' Unions at both the University of the Arts London and London School of Economics and Political Science. While the former might seem like a more obvious choice of employment for a design nerd like me, you're about to find out why working at LSESU is just as attractive: at the beginning of this term we moved into a brand spanking new Irish-designed architectural icon! The Saw Swee Hock Student Centre (or simply the Students' Union building, as my colleagues and I would much rather call it) is the latest red brick behemoth to come from O'Donnell + Tuomey Architects. It's their second building in the city (The Photographers' Gallery is their first) and houses activity spaces, a bar and cafes, a fully kitted-out gym, various student services and a massive basement venue, all for the students of LSE.

The Barbican

In the relatively short time that I've been in London, I've done what I can to explore and learn about this massive city. Though I've only scratched the surface, I'm certain I've found a place that will remain one of the city's highlights for me, no matter how long or short a time I live here. The Barbican in the City of London (London's financial and commercial centre, within ancient boundaries, is a city within a city) is an area with a long and complex history and is now the site of a brutalist complex of residential buildings, amenities and The Barbican Centre, a massive and wonderful arts venue. As a recent convert to brutalism and a long-standing fan of the arts, this place is heaven for me...

Here's the Heads Up #17

Welcome to the first London/Dublin edition of Here's the Heads Up, with some info on current and upcoming design exhibitions and events that a) I've been to, b) I plan to go to or c) I wish I could go to but am sorry to say I'll miss. Enjoy!

Legless in Dublin

For a couple of years now Dublin-based Louise Bruton has been writing about music, pop culture and accessibility on her own blog, for the Irish Times and for a host of other publications. She started using a wheelchair two years ago and before that used crutches full-time, giving her more experience than most of how easy (or difficult) it is to get around Dublin when mobility is impaired. To this end, she's begun Legless in Dublin, a blog reviewing the various cafes, pubs, venues and shops she finds herself in, detailing things such as how easy it is to get through doors, whether everything you need is on the ground floor or not (and whether there's a lift to take you upstairs and down), what surfaces she encounters (wet marble will impair even the most mobile of us, after all), access to proper sized bathrooms, helpfulness of staff and more. All this with a healthy dose of humour means Legless in Dublin is a really enjoyable as well as a really useful read.

Horror Vacui at Trienal de Lisboa

With less than two months to go until the third edition of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale kicks off, more and more projects are being finalised, announced and, in some cases, kickstarted. Close, Closer will see exhibitions, events, interventions and more unfold all across Lisbon from 12 September to 15 December and three architects hoping to join in are Jaffer Kolb, Ang Li and Phoebe Springstubb with their tile-based project Horror Vacui.

Scottish Brutalism

Wolfson Centre for Bioengineering, University of Strathclyde, designed by Morris & Steedman, 1971

I hadn't considered myself much of a fan of Brutalist architecture before moving to Edinburgh. Here, where the New Town is a model of Georgian order and the Old Town is a finely conserved organic growth of medieval winding streets and lanes, the occasional Brutalist building of the 50s, 60s or 70s may be pretty bold and definitely potent but breathes fresh air into a city otherwise rooted significantly in pre-20th century history. Though I appreciate the value of this architectural heritage and am glad Edinburgh preserves it so well, it can get a little monotonous, not least because so much of it is built using sandstone, which is the bedrock here. And apart from a few exceptions, little of what's been built in the city since has much personality of its own, preferring to blend into the city's sandstone background than make its presence felt. Against this sandy-coloured backdrop the harsh glass and concrete of a Brutalist building stands out far more than in other settings, and I can't help but like it all the more for its unashamed brashness.

Here's the Heads Up #16

Designgoat at the opening of Making Things Better as part of Design Intelligence at the National Craft Gallery. Photo by Pat Moore, courtesty of the NCG

IRELAND

Tuesday 18 June: NEWNOWNEXT, Tatiana Bilbao
Samuel Beckett Theatre, TCD, Dublin 2
The latest series of talks presented by the Irish Architecture Foundation (and supported by Arup) is entitled NEWNOWNEXT, bringing exciting young architects from all over the world to Dublin - some for the first time - to speak about their work. The series kicked off with Jeanne Gang and booked out in no time: keep an eye on the IAF's site for free tickets to hear architect and urban advocate Tatiana Bilbao of Mexico speak about her diverse portfolio of work.

Tuesday 18 June: Urban Knights
Science Gallery, Pearse Street, Dublin 2
If you'd prefer something else on the 18 June, Science Gallery's Urban Knights series of talks from people in Ireland and abroad making changes in cities continues with presentations from John Lynch of the Copenhagen Institute for Interaction Design, founder of Rothar Anne Bodes and others.

Life Story

Last Saturday was Record Store Day, and after visiting my nearest record store in Stockbridge I went for a wander in the Edinburgh neighbourhood known for its charity and vintage shops, boutiques and cafes. My second favourite find of the afternoon was a Phaidon book on modern architecture in the Shelter bookshop on Raeburn place - it's a massive and beautiful book and only cost me £8! But as great as that sounds, I stumbled upon something even better: Life Story on London Street. A design shop run by textile designer Fi Storey and designed by Adam Storey, Life Story is a bright and airy space containing a great range of clothes, accessories, stationery and homewares all clearly selected with a careful eye.

The Scotsman Steps

Originally built between 1898 and 1902, the Scotsman Steps are steps leading from the former Scotsman newspaper headquarters on North Bridge (now a hotel) to Market Street below in Edinburgh's hilly Old Town. In spite of being listed as a preservation site in the 1970s, the steps continued to deteriorate due to neglect and became a no-go area for most citizens and visitors in Edinburgh until very recently. In 2011 the city council and Edinburgh World Heritage decided to restore the steps (about time, really) with the Fruitmarket Gallery commissioning Turner-prize winning artist Martin Creed to get involved. With help from architects McGregor Bowes and Haworth Tompkins Creed resurfaced the steps with over 100 different varieties of marble, creating a colourful and elegant staircase from one level of the city to another.

Bespoke Atelier

Bespoke Atelier is a Glasgow-based studio specialising in bold, graphic printed textiles. Formed in 2010 by two Glasgow School of Art graduates - Yvonne from Scotland and Marion from France - Bespoke Atelier has been producing one-off commissions and limited run collections of interior products and garments ever since. They launched their first wallpaper pattern at The Glue Factory in Glasgow recently as part of an exhibition called Print Process, pictured above. A detailed aerial view of an imagined urban space drawing inspiration from the Speirs Wharf area of Glasgow where Bespoke Atelier's studio is located, their Neighbourhood wallpaper combines different line qualities, strokes and patterns into a busy and lively print. It's available to buy from their online shop, not only in black and white but in bespoke colours too - bespoke is more than just a name with this studio!

SET - Cinema and its Architecture

The Irish Architecture Foundation's recent Archizines Challenge, a competition designed to encourage a new generation of architectural publishing in Ireland, had many entries including 2ha which was recently funded through FundIt. The winning entry was SET, a publication exploring cinema and its architecture and Issue 1, which is sponsored by Plus Print, was launched recently in the Irish Film Institute. Written and edited by architecture graduate Jamie Young and designed by Paul Guinan, Issue 1 of SET takes a look at architecture and space in Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948), which was screened at the launch.

Intricate Illustrations by Mister Mourão

"I'm into obsessive drawing", says Portuguese-born Barcelona based Vasco Mourão (Mister Mourão to his fans, a group I am definitely a part of). Mourão, who originally trained as an architect, creates wonderfully intricate illustrations of reimagined cityscapes, piling details on top of details to amplify the essence of a city. Above and below is his illustration of New York city commissioned by the New Yorker magazine which I stumbled upon recently over on Architectural Review. Further down you'll see Mourão's illustration entitled Is it just me or is Barcelona falling apart?, where his ordinarily tight drawing style becomes fractured and flies apart, like a new form of urban sprawl. One of his more recent commissions is captured in video at the bottom: a drawing curving through 100 metres of wall space in a hotel hallway in Barcelona - a curly cityscape at first tightly packed together but gradually fragmenting towards the end of the space. I could wax on, but I think the illustrations and video speak volumes for themselves. See more of Mister Mourão's immensely skillful work at his portfolio, as well as his daily drawing blog.

Concrete Collar

Concrete Collar is an Irish blog recently started up by Ciana and Rebecca, two Dublin-based architecture students. Exploring how fashion and architecture meet, the two have held fashion shoots at a number of interesting spaces in Dublin, including Elm Park, the Poolbeg Lighthouse and the Point Village Centre, which is pictured here. Abandoned or empty spaces seem to crop up often, and each post gives a little information on the space - who designed it, its history and what its purpose was/is. I think some of the shots from Tessellate at the Point Village are the strongest, with their stripy prints and bold shapes complimenting the space brilliantly, and I'm looking forward to seeing their upcoming posts :)

2ha - an Archizine for the Suburbs

As you might recall, back in November the Irish Architecture Foundation launched their Archizines Challenge, inviting architects, designers, artists, writers and curators to create new architectural publications, with the winning individual or team receiving support from Plus Print to produce their archizine. The winners were Set Collective and they're busy at work producing issue one of SET, which examines the relationship between cinema and its architecture, something I'm looking forward to reading more about and - according to twitter - is due to be launched soon...

The MAC, Belfast

At the end of November last year I went on my holidays to Belfast - a city I hadn't visited before, or at least not one I'd spent time in while old enough to remember much now. There was lots to see and do, but a highlight of the trip was easily a visit to The MAC - Metropolitan Arts Centre - designed by Hackett Hall McKnight Architects and opened about a year ago. Purpose-built in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter and wedged between a number of other buildings, you can get a number of different impressions of the building depending on what direction you approach it from, as it employs a number of different materials to create a collage of blocks and planes. It's the interior of the building that's really special, continuing the idea of a collage of shapes, materials and textures facing into a central foyer and circulation space.

No. 29 Wolfe Tone Street

The home and office of Donoghue Corbett Architects - No. 29 Wolfe Tone Street in Limerick - was most definitely one of the highlights of the first edition of Open House Limerick back in October. Donoghue Corbett took an 1840s terraced house and transformed it into a bright and warm home and work space through a reconfiguration of existing space and a small extension to the ground and first floors. Attention to detail through material use and a variety of textures make for an interesting and inviting space.

Archizines

Image via IAF

Last night saw the launch of Archizines, an exhibition presenting new architectural magazines, journals and independent publications from all over the world. Curated by Elias Redstone and presented in Ireland by the Irish Architecture Foundation and the National College of Art and Design, the exhibition is on opens to the public today in NCAD Gallery, Dublin 8 and runs until 11 January.

Ballynanty School by Andy Devane

Last weekend I headed south for the first edition of Open House Limerick, and it was great! Organised by a team assembled from Limerick City and County Councils, Limerick Regeneration and some local architects and historians, OHLimerick saw 60 events, including 37 building tours, occur over three days. As with any decent OH festival, the OHLimerick programme contained a great mix of buildings to visit, including buildings of historic significance, contemporary spaces, public and cultural buildings and beautiful private residences. While the programme was varied, there was a spotlight placed on the work of Limerick-born architect Andy Devane, with five of his buildings in the city on show.

Here's the Heads Up #13

Fuschia MacAree at the Bernard Shaw

26 October - 19 November:
Fuschia MacAree at the Bernard Shaw, Dublin 2
Blessings and Curses is the first solo exhibition of uber-talented illustrator Fuschia MacAree. It runs for three weeks in the Bernard Shaw in Portobello, do go if you can.

31 October:
Eva Franch at IMMA @ the NCH, Dublin 2
As part of the Irish Architecture Foundation's series of talks entitled Agents of Architecture, director of New York's Storefront for Art and Architecture Eva Franch comes to Dublin to speak on the evening of 31 October. The event is free but booking is essential here.

Lisbon: Top 5 Top 5s

View from Elevador de Santa Justa

Here's a post I've been planning to do for a while, but I kept getting distracted by goings on in Dublin and putting more layers of clothes on... There are so many great things and places and sights in Lisbon that I want to tell people about so I thought I would compile a few Top 5s to give you a sense of what the city's like to spend time in. And then I'll calm down with the effusing about the place, I promise. Without further ado...