Metropolitan Workshop LLP’s Post

We are delighted to announce the opening of the second iteration of Rún - Ireland’s (In)visible Buildings Project on Friday November 15th in Building 71, Belfield from 5.00pm. The exhibition will be opened by Patricia Carey, Government Special Advocate for Victims of Institutional Abuse and UCD President Professor Orla Feely. The exhibition maps and catalogues vacant institutional buildings across the island of Ireland. A representative sample of these buildings is studied in more detail to reveal firstly the need for their traumatic histories to be acknowledged and recognised, and secondly the potential for these major buildings to take on a new lease of life and contribute to the well-being and renewal of their towns. The research to date has been focussed on processes of recording, surveying and creating an accessible database, as well as offering guidelines and principles for sensitive redevelopment. We have developed a version of the database alongside software engineer Ian Thompson, and are excited to share this in-progress work. The exhibition and dissemination of this work is also a vital part of the process. We would like to use this exhibition as a prompt and an opportunity to think about next steps - next steps in terms of research, in terms of advocacy and in terms of honouring the legacy of these troubling, (in)visible buildings and realising their potential. As always, a huge thank you to Professor Katherine O’Donnell (@kmodonnell43) and Professor Hugh Campbell (@hugh_campbellucd) for their continued mentorship and guidance, and we are also very grateful to our sponsors, who’s financial support allows the project to keep going. See link in bio for more information. Photos 2+3 by @ste_murray from the first iteration of the exhibition during @openhousedublin in 2023 We will be sharing more information over the coming weeks, so stay tuned.