Extension and refurbishment of a Victorian semi-detached dwelling in the centre of Galway by ORA Architects. The design focused on the potential of the section to bring light into the centre of the space. Custom made built in furniture and stained glass in combination with personal pieces create a truly unique contemporary home. 

Completed in 2015 the Mayo Medical Academy is an adaptive re-use project which involved the refurbishment of St. Mary’s Church, a five-bay double height building, constructed between 1900-1903 to a design in the Gothic style by Edward Keville Dixon and is designate das being of regional significance. The key part of the conservation strategy was to retain the original character of the structure while providing for its new function as a teaching space.

Architect led tour with Eamon McCarney, Taylor McCarney Architects.

From Generation to generation... the story of Kylemore Abbey.

Kylemore Abbey, on the edge of Pollacappul Lough, has undergone several adaptions over the course of its romantic and sometimes tragic existence: from the adaptation of Kylemore Lodge to a castle by Mitchell Henry in 1867, as an elaborate love token for his wife Margaret, to its conversion to a Benedictine Monastery in 1920, its use as a school from 1923 to 2010 and in more recent times its opening up to the public as a culturally significant tourist attraction.  

Much of the West wing of the abbey was destroyed by fire in 1959 – Axo Architects most recent project redirects visitors through the forgotten rear entrance court and has reinterpreted that west side of the abbey to extend and enhance the visitors’ experience of this internationally acclaimed building and landscape.  

Michael Horan, Axo Architects will led the tour. 

SOA are a collaborative formed to promote the possibilities for self-organised projects in Ireland. They aim to inform and empower the Irish public in regard to alternative community-led housing models, including CoHousing and Community Land Trusts. This is an open networking event where you can learn and share information and will include an exhibition of projects from across Europe.

It will be a two-hour event, 2-4pm, with the exhibition available to view for an extra hour, until 5pm. 

Open on a ‘first come’ basis. 

The corn mill is a recorded monument and part of an industrial complex. Restored using best conservation practises under the guidance of Ger. McManus (Conservation Architect) and Dr Fred Hamond (Industrial Archaeologist). 

Guided tours are led by owner Maria Kennedy. 

Tickets Free. Open on a ‘first come’ basis.

Learn about the history of the old Swinford railway station, and inspired by stories, music and sounds discover within this world, colour shape and texture.

Originally part of the Collooney & Claremorris Railway line the Former Goods Store at Swinford, saw the arrival of the railway in the late nineteenth century and with it fire and smoke!! Recently restored by Mayo County Council the Swinford Cultural Centre building once formed part of an ensemble of railway buildings including the Station Master’s House, water tower and signal box. This hands on workshop for children delivered by Shaza O’Hara will explore the re-adaption of this railway structure and buildings through various mediums including printing and collage. A fantastic opportunity for children to experience the fascinating stories of adaption and reuse in this fun-filled and engaging art workshop.

Max number of twenty children 20.

Children must be accompanied by a adult.

It’s always worth taking a walk down the street to view the colorful houses which comprise that part of Galway called The Long Walk. It’s here at No.19 where we find the owner of Coffeewerk + Press’s Dan Ulrich most recent passion project. Here Dan has created a calm space in the city where he can be at peace and a home where he can explore his passion for creativity and design. Dan invites us into No.19 to see his collaboration with the amazing talent of Gabriel Furniture and with the guidance of Stephen Walton Design Service Ltd. 

Tours 1pm, 1:45pm & 2:15

Loughrea has been selected as part of IAF’s Reimagine… initiative which acknowledges that no one has more expertise of a place than the people who live there. We would like to hear your thoughts on how you use ‘The Walks’ and what you might like to see there. Drop in to our workshop to tell us your ideas!!

Drop-in architect led workshop.

This extension to a 1920s townhouse by LiD Architecture remakes the retaining wall edge bounding the Eglinton Canal, it’s stepped floor levels and folding roof-planes re-negotiate a relationship to the canal and city beyond. 

LiD Architecture is an Award-winning practice, established in 2003 by Dougal Sheridan and Deirdre McMenamin.

Architect led Tour

In Connemara, the expulsion of cattle and division of the house into rooms are recent events. Oral tradition relates the former byre end divided from the kitchen by a partition for a bedroom. The plan of this house on holiday is a twelve metres square, economical speculation. Four dry limestone walls coursed on an expressed polished concrete slab prescribe a hipped and slated gazebo and avoid the small politics of front and back. Teach adhuain. The bedrooms are cabins under the loft. Each elevation shifts between the room and the landscape of a casual suburbia.

Sometimes the memory on the landscape can be negative and traumatic, and an adaptive reuse of a building can achieve the result of leaving an important part of our history intact, while simultaneously defusing the intensity of its negative associations. A very good example of such transformative possibilities is a project for the former Letterfrack Industrial School in Connemara.

Designed by O’ Donnell + Tuomey Architects the new addition to the reformatory school building is a Furniture College, a constituent part of Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, which is the National Centre of Excellence for Furniture Design and Wood Technology.

It also is home to Connemara West, a community owned and managed rural development company, which works to improve life for local people and includes facilities such as a creche, community radio, and office services.  

Open on a ‘first come’ basis. 

The Druid Theatre Company, founded in Galway in 1975, was the first Irish professional theatre company to be established outside Dublin. The Mick Lally Theatre has been the home of Druid’s work since 1979. The building was once a tea storehouse, owned by the McDonaghs, one of Galway’s famous merchant families. 

The renovation and extension of 19th century warehouses for the theatre was completed by de Paor Architects in 2009 - 2011.

Open on a ‘first come’ basis. 

The former Oughterard Courthouse, built in the classical style of William Callback, was derelict and vacant. In 2012 the local group Oughterard Restoration and Heritage Co. Ltd. sourced funding to adapt the building for use for the community providing educational and artistic facilities. Councilor Thomas Welby & Marin Doddy, architectural conservation officer, Galway County Council, explain the process undertaken. 

Open on a ‘first come’ basis.  Tours 11am-1pm & Talk 3pm-5pm