Open House Dublin 2026
Ireland’s largest architecture festival takes place 10-18 October, with more than 200 free events celebrating the collective energy, care and creativity of the city and county.
We are excited to unveil this year’s programme of free events for our annual flagship festival of architecture, Open House Dublin, taking place across the city and county from 10-18 October.
This year the focus of Ireland’s largest architecture festival is Dublin Is Living, championing the people and places, communities and cultures, architecture and design that together shape the past, present and future of this great city and county.
The nine-day programme will open up more than 200 buildings, places, neighbourhoods and events across the city and county, offering family-friendly fun through free tours, talks, workshops, exhibitions and public happenings.
Speaking about this year’s programme, Emmett Scanlon, IAF Director, said: “Our striking visual campaign for this year’s festival aims to communicate the one main idea we champion in Open House year after year — that people and place are better when each takes care of the other. Open House Dublin is a unique and exciting chance for everyone to attend behind the scenes tours, to get involved in talks, debates and workshops but it is also a chance to encounter the very many people who are working in and with communities across city and county, to ensure Dublin is a healthy and beautiful city that is better designed for life and for living.”
Dublin Is Living: An All Dublin Conversation
A major strand of this year’s festival focuses on creating a public conversation about what it means to live, thrive and belong in Dublin. For the first time, Open Table conversations will be hosted by Dr. Lorcan Sirr in each of Dublin’s four local authority areas, inviting communities to discuss their experiences on how they think “Dublin is living” today.
These four conversations will feed into a wider Dublin is Living Town Hall at Dublin City Council’s Wood Quay venue, offering residents, community voices and those working in architecture, housing, retail and health a chance to have their say in how best to shape a living Dublin for all.
Festival Highlights
Open House Dublin favourites return with tours of Freemasons Hall, Áras Mhic Dhiarmada (Busáras), Trinity College Dublin Museum building and the GPO. New additions include the Polaris Building at DCU, a five story landmark designed by Mullarkey Pedersen and Sheppard Robson Architects and the newly opened TU Dublin Academic Hub and Library in Grangegorman by O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects.
A special in-development tour of the new National Velodrome and Badminton Centre, due to be completed in 2028, will be led by Walls Construction, and social housing and public realm developments will feature across the programme in all four local authority areas.
To celebrate 100 years of Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ, Open House Dublin will offer unique behind-the-scenes tours of RTÉ studios, giving visitors a special opportunity to discover where Irish broadcasting history has been made.
O’Connell Street Cultures is a unique evening focused on the future of Ireland’s Main Street and the city surrounding it. At a moment of great ambition for change and with an eye to the future, Robert Watt (Dublin City Regeneration Authority), Mark O’ Brien (Abbey Theatre), Denise Murray (Metropolitan Workshop) and Lois Kapila (Dublin Inquirer) will discuss the vital role of culture and its stories in any future plans for the people and place of Dublin 1.
Tours of the newly restored Poetry Ireland and Irish Heritage Trust building on Parnell Square are being offered in this year’s programme; this conserved Georgian townhouse has been transformed by McCullough Mulvin Architects, bringing together poetry, heritage and contemporary cultural life.
Always a favourite of Open House Dublin, the 2026 programme will once again offer rare opportunities to step inside a selection of private homes across Dublin city and county, exploring different approaches to architecture, design and contemporary living.
Open House Junior
Kicking off the festival on 10th and 11th October, Open House Junior will be a weekend of fun and exploration of Dublin’s architecture for children and young people. Highlights of the Junior programme include a workshop through Brazilian Portuguese and English where families explore the idea of nature and city. There will be a creative lab for teens on Georgian architecture at Coolock library, LEGO workshops on the theme of neighbourhood and care, and the return of the IAF Architrek series of guided activity walks around the city.
The programme will also host the inaugural Open House Youth Council at Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council's Council Chamber, bringing together young people aged 14–17 from across Dublin. Also, children aged 9-12 will have the opportunity to participate in the Word Warriors programme with Fighting Words, a creative writing organisation supporting students of all ages to explore their love of writing.
Experiencing Architecture Differently
Open House Dublin is a festival for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, with its accessibility programme including Irish Sign Language (ISL) tours, sensory and tactile tours, a Day in Our Wheels with Spinal Injuries Ireland and a tactile workshop with artist, designer and educator Tadhg Charles.
Dublin Port hosts boat tours exploring Dublin’s docklands development, and Christ Church offers visitors the chance to ring the iconic cathedral bells.
Meanwhile, Open Studios return this year, inviting audiences behind-the-scenes of working architectural practices. As part of Open Studios this year, Metropolitan Workshop Studios together with Narrative Practice will offer mentoring, portfolio insights and connections for architecture students, graduates and young practitioners.
Celebrating Sociable Dublin
The wider programme will extend beyond architectural tours and create unexpected ways of experiencing Dublin, including a night-time City Bus tour presented by Open House Dublin and Take Back the Night, exploring Dublin's lost clubbing spaces and infrastructure, and their potential for reinvention.
Historian and broadcaster Donal Fallon will take visitors on a journey through the city’s pub architecture, exploring the ornate Victorian interiors, craftsmanship, stained glass and social history behind some of Dublin’s most recognisable drinking establishments. Expect stories of architects, designers, writers and the communities that have made these pubs part of the fabric of the city.
Welcoming the festival, Minister of State for the Office of Public Works (OPW) Kevin Boxer Moran TD, said: “I’m very pleased that the Office of Public Works is supporting Open House Dublin again this year. It’s such a pleasure to be able to open up the doors of unique buildings, exciting venues and hidden spaces to the public. 2026 is the 21st year of the event and it has grown into a wonderfully diverse programme of free tours, talks and exhibitions. I’m proud that the Office of Public Works is a key partner with the Irish Architecture Foundation, committed, with many others, to making architecture and the value of design accessible to all.”
All Open House Dublin events are free, but pre-booking is required for many of the events. The full 2026 programme is available to explore from today (16.09.26) at www.openhousedublin.com, with bookings opening on 23 September at 10.00am.
Photo: Larry Quigley, Parisioner, St Mary's Cathedral. Photo by Linda Brownlee for Open House Dublin 2026.
