With money leaving local economies across Ireland to service debt and significant drops in local authority revenues, towns such as Dundalk, Ennis and Kilkenny are investigating the possibility of bringing in electronic currencies to keep money circulating locally, as Richard Douthwaite reveals.
The Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF) is opening the doors for Irelands largest architectural festival, Open House Dublin 2010: Big, Small, Global.
It is a simple and powerful idea where over one weekend buildings selected for their architectural quality and interest open their doors to the public.
2010 has been an exceptional year in Irish Architecture as it sees the completion of several large- scale projects in Dublin city. To mark these new landscapes as well the innovative work of Irish architects the IAF has adopted the theme BIG, SMALL, GLOBAL. Open House Dublin gives the public a unique opportunity to explore the city in all its dimensions from the undulating roofline of the new Aviva Stadium to the tilted atrium of the National Conference Centre.
As well as building tours, Open House Dublin 2010 includes Open House Junior, a series of creative and lively events to enable young participants to play architect for a day; Open Space (in association with Urban Agenda) walking, cycling and boat tours to explore the spaces between buildings; and Open Minds a programme of talks, lectures and exhibitions, including the increasingly popular Open Debate.
All events are free of charge.
To find out more please visit our website
www.architecturefoundation.ie/openhouse
