Irish Architecture Foundation brings New Life to Old Buildings in Limerick on September 9 and 16

Irish Architecture Foundation brings New Life Old Buildings back to Limerick for 2026 on September 9 and 16. Photo: Deirdre Power. In Collaboration with Irish Architecture Foundation

New Life Old Buildings is a programme of conversations, tours, workshops and talks exploring how caring for the buildings we already have can help create more connected, sustainable and resilient places

The Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF) announces the return of New Life Old Buildings to Limerick for its third year, with a programme of conversations, tours, workshops and talks exploring how caring for the buildings we already have can help create more connected, sustainable and resilient places.

This season of New Life Old Buildings continues with a focus on building care, asking what existing, vacant and underused buildings can offer the places and communities around them. How can the buildings we already have provide the rooms needed for community life? And how can we develop the knowledge, skills and networks needed to care for them now and into the future?

Taking place across two days in Limerick this September, followed by two online events in October, New Life Old Buildings brings people together to share knowledge, experience and ideas about the potential of existing buildings and places. Through conversations with local and international experts, site visits and practical workshops, the programme explores approaches to adaptive reuse, regeneration and the long-term care of our built environment.

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Speaking about the announcement, Emmett Scanlon, IAF Director, said, “Cities such as Limerick already contain so much of what we need. New Life Old Buildings 2026 invites us to look again at the buildings and places that already exist and recognise their potential, not only as structures to be conserved or reused, but also as places of meaning, memory and value for community life. Returning to Limerick for a third year, the IAF is here to support communities to build their knowledge and experience so they can seek to return buildings and places into meaningful use, now and for the future.”

Wednesday 9 September – In-person

The programme begins on Wednesday 9 September with Building Care, an afternoon and evening of events in Limerick city. An open table discussion, The Social Life of Buildings, will explore how shared places help people connect, create and thrive, followed by visits to two buildings at different stages of renovation, led by the people managing their transformation.

The day concludes with Caring for Place: THRIVE in Action, bringing together representatives from Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme projects around Ireland to share experiences of collaboration, adaptive reuse and place-based regeneration, and to consider the opportunities and challenges involved in creating lasting local impact.

Wednesday 16 September – In-Person

On Wednesday 16 September, Buildings are Places of Connection turns attention to the future of vacant and underused buildings in Limerick. A collaborative workshop, Future Spaces: Reimagining Vacant Buildings in Limerick City, invites participants to imagine new possibilities for these spaces, followed by the panel discussion From Buildings to Belonging: Reuse, Regeneration and Community, exploring how existing buildings can generate lasting social, cultural and community value.

Thursday 22 October – Online

The programme continues online in October. On 22 October, architecture graduates from the University of Limerick will share findings and feedback emerging from the Limerick sessions.

Friday 23 October – Online

On 23 October, an information session will offer a starting point for individuals and groups interested in exploring the reuse of vacant buildings.

New Life Old Buildings is open to everyone, from people already caring for or working with an existing building, to community groups, practitioners and anyone curious about what our existing places might become. All events are free, with advance booking required.

Explore the programme and register HERE