Public to get view of rarely seen Dublin buildings

People will have an opportunity this weekend to get a glimpse into parts of many architecturally important buildings in Dublin…

People will have an opportunity this weekend to get a glimpse into parts of many architecturally important buildings in Dublin that are not normally open to the public.

As part of the "Open House Dublin" weekend, there will also be walking tours of new and established neighbourhoods in the city.

More than 50 events involving nearly 100 buildings are involved in the project, organised by the Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF). Foundation chairperson Antoinette O'Neill said last night that all the events requiring prebooking, or tickets were already booked out, and there were indications that many other buildings would attract large crowds.

"I feel I must warn people that queues are likely, and people may not be able to get into particular buildings they had hoped to visit."

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Among the places likely to be very popular with visitors are the viewing platform at Liberty Hall and the museum flat at the Iveagh Trust building in Patrick Street.

The award-winning urban garden designed by Diarmuid Gavin, which was installed at an apartment scheme at Hanover Quay after its triumph at last year's Chelsea Garden Show, will also be open to the public.

There will be tours of Temple Bar and Smithfield over the weekend, while there will also be an opportunity to see Dublin docklands by water tomorrow afternoon.

People will be able to visit Liberty Hall's viewing platform today and tomorrow. Visitors should call to Liberty Hall reception between 10.30am and 2.30pm each day for access to the building. Des Rea O'Kelly, who designed the 1965 tower block, will be speaking on the genesis of the building on Saturday, while Brian Hogan, who redesigned the adjoining Performing Arts Centre in 2003, will be speaking tomorrow.

Busáras on Store Street will be open from 1.30pm to 4.30pm tomorrow.

All the events are free of charge, although some required prebooking, which is no longer available.

At the heart of Open House Dublin is the theme of neighbourhood and the exploration of new and established neighbourhoods in the city

Featured neighbourhoods include Trinity College, Temple Bar, the Liberties, Smithfield, Docklands, North Great George's Street and Henrietta Street.

The IAF website is www.architecturefoundation.ie