Gallery Talk

New Geneva: Tracing the Memories of a Forgotten Utopia

Fiachra McCarthy & Gjiltinë Isufi

‘New Geneva: Tracing the Memories of a Forgotten Utopia’ is a research project engaging with the ruins of Ireland’s lost city, New Geneva. Planned in 1782 as a utopian settlement for exiled Swiss watchmakers, the project was never fully realised. Today, the site bears silent witness to a layered history, from early settler houses to its later transformation into a prison and military barracks.

Combining fieldwork, drawing, videography, and oral histories, our project reconstructs overlooked fragments into one spatial narrative. At its centre is a large-scale hand-drawn axonometric which maps 240 years of New Geneva, resisting linear time to unfold in an entangled cartography of ambitions, traumas, and absences.

Presented at Architecture at the Edge festival, the installation assembles a counter-archive of New Geneva, inviting audiences to reflect on how memory, absence, and fragmentary histories can be reactivated through spatial practice.

Project credits

Gjiltinë Isufi is an architect and researcher in Brussels. Her FWO-funded PhD project ‘In Space We Read Trauma: Disclosing Microhistories in Kosovo, 1980-1999’ aims to develop a methodological framework for spatially investigating traumatic experiences. She is also teaching on trauma and space at KU Leuven.

Fiachra is an architect and artist practicing between Ireland and Belgium. Educated at TUD Dublin and KU Leuven Brussels, his interdisciplinary practice explores the intersection of art, architecture and research. He is also co-founder of the Brussels-based art and scenography collective F//AAT.

New Now Next - Joar Nango

Groundbreaking Sámi artist and architect Joar Nango presents his creative practice followed by a discussion with Traveller Architect Brian Ward and others.
“What could architecture look like if it reflected the nomadic way of life?” 

Groundbreaking Sámi artist and architect Joar Nango presents his creative practice followed by a discussion with Traveller Architect Brian Ward and others. Presented by the Irish Architecture Foundation in partnership with Misleór Festival of Nomadic Cultures and in collaboration with Architecture at the Edge.

Joar Nango is an artist and architect. He was trained at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU in Trondheim, Bergen School of Architecture (BAS) in Bergen and Weissensee Kunsthochschule in Berlin. He co-founded the architectural collective Felleskapsprosjektet å Fortette Byen (FFB), together with Eystein Talleraas and Håvard Arnhoff, in 2010, which was nominated by Norsk Form as Young Architects of the Year in 2012. Nango has exhibited extensively internationally, including at the Biennale Architectura, Venice, Documenta14 and Sakahan. He was the Festival Artist at Bergen Kunsthall in 2020. Nango lives and works in Tromsø.

Supported by Irish Architecture Foundation 

Talk at the Table followed by Kamayan (Filipino feast)

Tambayan: A Bayanihan Project

Eduard Valenzuela & Brian Ó Curnáin

Tambayan addresses Ireland’s decline in youth public spaces through reclaimed-material builds, film, and talks. Creating inclusive places for gathering, belonging, and connection.”

‘Tambayan’ builds on last year’s award-winning workshops, addressing the decline of public spaces for young people in Ireland by creating inclusive, communal environments through participatory design. The project engages young people in co-designing and constructing three key elements of a Tambayan - a place to sit, a table, and a roof, entirely from reclaimed or donated materials. This hands-on process fosters collaboration, creativity, and a sense of ownership while teaching participants to see value in materials often discarded.

Alongside the physical build, a short film explores the stories of the Filipino-Irish community, highlighting themes of migration, adaptation, and belonging. The completed structures will temporarily activate underused public spaces, inviting dialogue and imaginative engagement with the urban realm. During the Architecture at the Edge Festival in Galway, the Tambayan will be presented in the Printworks Gallery alongside a series of talks, shared meals, and screenings, advocating for more accessible, youth-focused public spaces in Ireland.

Project credits

Eduard Valenzuela is a Part I architect from Dublin, currently completing his Master’s degree at Central Saint Martins in London. Winner of the Thornton Education Trust Prize, his work explores themes of representation and identity in the public realm, with a particular focus on the transformative potential of youth culture.

Brian Ó Curnáin is an architecture student from Conamara, Galway. He has studied at UCD and TU Delft, worked at the Venice Biennale, and contributed to the As an Gceo exhibition. A recipient of the TET Prize and the John Meagher Bursary, his work explores culture, community, and public space.

Supported by Grafton Architects

Part of the AATE Design Lab learning programme 

Workshop & Talk

Denise Murray, CoLab 

Dr Sarah-Anne Buckley 

Seamus Ruttledge 

Teresa O’ Sullivan

Ethna Rose O’Regan 

in conversation with 

Maeve O Rourke (Chair) 

Preceded by Exhibition Tour in the Festival Printworks Gallery.

Introducing Architecture: 
Robert Bourke Architects

Robert Bourke — Director 
BA BAI DipArch MRIAI

Having initially trained as a structural engineer at Trinity College Dublin, Robert went on to study architecture at Technical University Dublin and University of East London, gaining his Certificate in Professional Practice and Management at University College London in 2007. Robert established his architectural design practice, RBA, in 2010, after having gained experience in London, Amsterdam and Berlin. His Dublin-based office works on a diverse range of projects including homes, community buildings and places for education and work. The practice has built a reputation for award-winning designs, winning RIAI Best Emerging Practice in 2014 and numerous national awards. Their designs are developed through an open, collaborative and exploratory design process, resulting in unique spaces of character, integrity and material richness. Robert is also a Design Fellow at the School of Architecture, University College Dublin, where he has been teaching since 2013.

The event takes place as part of the AATE Design Lab learning programme for young people aged 16-25 year olds. To register interest in the programme
Email: learning@architectureattheedge.com 

Introducing Architecture:
Samuel Gonçalves

Samuel Gonçalves
Director SUMMARY Architecture

Founded by Samuel Gonçalves, SUMMARY is a Portugal-based architecture studio focused on accelerating and simplifying construction through modular systems and prefabrication. With a pragmatic yet experimental approach, the studio has developed a range of building solutions aimed at optimizing time, resources, and the construction process itself. From installations at the Venice Biennale and virtual exhibitions to large-scale projects such as educational and public housing buildings, SUMMARY explores how off-site production can be a powerful tool for rethinking the way we build.

In this lecture, Samuel Gonçalves will present SUMMARY’s work, reflecting on how industrialized construction methods can benefit cities, improve conditions for workers, and address the often-invisible environmental weight of buildings.

The event takes place as part of the AATE Design Lab learning programme for young people aged 16-25 year olds.

Unseen Potential: Adaptive Reuse & Regeneration for Thriving places

Galway Chamber, is committed to regeneration that creates the right environment for thriving communities across both city and county. Building on the recent  launch of its Adaptive reuse in Galway Report, the Chamber is convening a panel of experts to explore the unseen potential within existing buildings and streetscapes, and what practical steps can turn these spaces and places into new homes and vibrant neighbourhoods. 

Moderated by Karen Ronan (CEO, Galway Chamber), the panel will bring together perspectives from planning, construction, conservation, and architecture.

Speakers include; 

Justin Molloy - Director, Construction Industry Federation (CIF) Western Region. 

Michael Scott - Executive Architectural Conservation Officer, Galway City Council.

Seán Dockry – MD at Seán Dockry and Associates (Architects)

Gus McCarthy - Director, MKO Planning and Environmental Consultants

Together they will explore how adaptive reuse, conservation, and planning innovation can address vacancy, provide new housing options, and strengthen neighbourhoods across the city and county. A founding partner of The Galway Charter, the event will open up further discussion on what practical steps we can take to support the faster, viable delivery of housing and urban/rural regeneration.  We are delighted to present this  special Architecture at the Edge Festival event in collaboration with Galway Chamber and partners.

Event organized by Galway City Chamber with support from The RIAI (The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland) 

Architectural Photography: 
A roundtable discussion hosted by Mark Shiel and Alice Clancy 

Preceded by Exhibition Tour 

Aisling McCoy, Ste Murray in conversation with Mark Shiel and Alice Clancy (Chair) 

Please join us for a fascinating conversation about architectural photography - a key medium in disseminating knowledge and ideas about our built environment. Its creative process requires the presence of a photographer in time and place, witnessing the real world, then focusing attention on selected still images of buildings. These heighten our understanding of architecture while making the unseen seen. At the same time, many architectural photographers work commercially, documenting buildings according to a brief for a client (architect, developer, or property owner). This tension between art and function has been heightened in the digital age, in which architectural photography is just one type of ‘visualisation’. In response, this roundtable discussion asks: What makes architectural photography valuable as a medium? How is it evolving to meet changes in technology and the built environment? How can we encourage its growth and appreciation?

Unpredictable Atmosphere
Lucia Rebolino in collaboration with Riccardo Petrini 

A lecture performance exploring climate models, unfolding academic research, and images within a dimensionless digital space as a streaming narrative. Unpredictable Atmosphere reimagines the internet as an optical device to unfold climate models in digital space. It addresses the limitations of AI foundation models in climate forecasting, which often ignore outliers—extreme weather events such as hurricanes and heatwaves—that push the atmosphere to its breaking point. These events represent phenomena that cannot be fully modelled and remain hidden in AI’s blind spots. Unpredictable Atmosphere views the atmosphere as an archive of transformation, much like an architectural object, preserving technological residues. It crumbles conventions and explores how outliers in counter-modelling practices can reshape our understanding of climate, weather, and space.

Part of the LINA architecture programme. 

Making Visible the Invisible:
Lucia Rebolino, Leon Butler, and Nicolas Guichard, Béatrice Lartigue (Lab212)

Join Conn Holohan, Director of the Centre for Creative Technologies and a lecturer in film and media studies at the University of Galway for conversation with a panel of speakers to explore subjects pertaining to architecture, communication and society, viewed through the enriching lens of the convergence of art, science and technology.

Speakers include:

Leon Butler is an artist working at the intersection of art and technology. His work has been recognised by the Type Directors Club, 100 Archive, Digital Media Awards, and he is lecturer at ATU Galway City.  

Lucia Rebolino is an architect and research-based computational designer at Forensic Architecture in London. Her work interlaces science, art, and counter-cartography. 

Nicolas Guichard and Béatrice Lartigue are members of the interdisciplinary art collective, Lab212  founded in 2008 in Paris. The Lab212 collective uses new media tools to create installations that explore our perception of space and sound. 

This event is part of the LINA European Architecture Platform programme. 

Galway Charter Update
Galway City Council Urban Development Directorship

Since the two major international conference on sustainable urbanism held in Galway (Reimagining the Irish City and Town April 2023 &  Lifelong Neighbourhoods: Planning, designing and delivering the 21st century neighbourhood May 2024), the publication and signing of the Greater Galway Charter and the publication of the Irish Cities Group ‘Irish Cities in Crisis’ we return to the Druid Theatre to reflect on the work done to date and to plot a direction for the future. 80 years ago Galway was a compact, sustainable, ‘15 minute City’, we pose the question Can Galway be a compact City again?

Major investment and governance changes have been made by City Hall to create a new Urban Development Directorship. This Directorship, in collaboration with many stakeholders, have progressed projects that are in line with the principles of the Greater Galway Charter. We want to afford them an opportunity to discuss in short 5 minute presentation the key points of their positions.

If you are interested in the shaping the future of the City this is a key event to come to.

Supported by Scott Tallon Walker Architects  

Once Upon A Sound
Hosted by Dónal Dineen 

Talk Discussion 

Dancing till late:

Ticket holders are invited to join us later as we continue

into the night with dancing till late! 

Doors from 10pm 

Dónal Dineen is an Irish DJ, radio presenter and film maker. A pioneering force for a generation of music fans, Donal is renowned for his deep passion for music as well as a curator of unique multi-disciplinary events.  Current projects include the music podcast Make Me An Island podcast and a documentary film Dance to Remember which will premiere at the Kerry Film Festival in October.

Dónal will be hosting a special live edition of his Once Upon A Sound video series at AATE where he’ll be exploring music as a source of inspiration for creative minds working in other media.

Taking our cue from the Desert Island Discs programme first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1942, guests will be invited to choose a selection of audio recordings that they would take with them if they were to be cast away on a desert island as a jump-off point for a discussion about the role sound plays in their practice.

Workshop / Roundtable Talk

Tithe ón Seansaol / Lost Houses

Laura O’Connor, Will Judge & Morgan Davies

Explore Lost Architecture  

Through presentations, round-table talks, and a hands-on workshop, exhibitors will unveil their design research and creative investigations into sites of lost buildings, forgotten homes, and overlooked architectural fragments scattered across Galway City’s rich cultural and social landscape.

Share Your Story

We invite you to bring a memory— a photograph, a story, an object, or a personal recollection. These prompts will spark a round-table discussion on themes of cultural identity, conservation, social history, and the unseen layers of our built environment.

Connect, Reflect, Reimagine 

Join us in a welcoming, inclusive setting for an afternoon of conversation, debate, and discovery. Together, we will recall and reimagine Galway City’s architectural heritage—lost or unseen, but not forgotten. Don’t miss this chance to be part of a unique celebration of local architectural history. Let’s uncover the stories that still live in the walls, streets, and memories of Galway City. Ready to join the conversation?

Project credits

Laura O’Connor, Will Judge and Morgan Davies are a dynamic collective of architectural designers based in Wales, they interpret heritage, landscape, and local traditions through drawing, writing, photography, and media. Their multidisciplinary research spans the Celtic nations, embracing diverse languages and cultures to reimagine architecture as a living dialogue shaped by social histories.

Supported by Galway City Council Architectural Conservation Office & Galway City Council Arts Office.

Jessica Reynolds
Director vPPR Architects

Jessica co-founded vPPR in 2009. She is particularly interested in the relationship between art and architecture. She focuses on cultural projects and artist collaborations to rethink the everyday, greatly enjoying working across all scales and project types, from installations to historic refurbishments to mixed-use new developments. She is unit master at The Architectural Association, studying the role of museums in the environmental emergency. She has organised debates on this topic with the V&A, the Natural History Museum, the Horniman Museum and others. She is co-founder of the Architecture Exchange, a platform to foster debate between architecture and philosophy, investigating the work of Graham Harman and Chantal Mouffe. Jessica studied architecture at Cambridge University and Princeton University, including an M.Phil in History and Philosophy of Architecture at Cambridge. 

vPPR Architects, believe access to culture is fundamental for communities to thrive. We design spaces that inspire creativity by prioritising shared space, flexibility of use and artist collaborations. Our projects are designed to be robust and long lasting, seeking to retrofit wherever possible and embracing circular economy principles in our designs.  From our studios in London, Liverpool and Hamburg, we design for a diverse range of cultural, residential, commercial, education and public realm clients. vPPR is a women-led architecture practice, set up by Tatiana von Preussen, Catherine Pease and Jessica Reynolds in 2009.

Event supported by Pat McCabe Architects.