THIS MONTH:

Claire Pierce

March arrives with longer evenings and that particular restlessness that precedes spring, daylight stretching past six o’clock, enough light after work to walk home differently. It is a month for gatherings where ideas get tested before they reach the drawing board, with enough on the calendar to keep you alert to what others are thinking and making. Below are a few recommendations of events taking place this month;

If you’re questioning how our discipline responds to climate and territorial crises, the All-Ireland Architecture Research Group Conference at CCAE Cork, 5–7 March, is worth attending. Themed ‘Architecture in the Critical Zone’, the conference draws on philosopher Bruno Latour’s work exploring the gap between the sovereign land from which we derive rights and the terrestrial land from which we derive wealth and sustenance. What makes this particularly interesting is the format: contributions may take the form of traditional papers, drawings, films, designed artefacts or hybrids, reflecting genuine openness to research by design. Keynote speakers include Alexandra Arènes, Sébastien Marot and Amin Taha. For those working on retrofit, adaptive reuse or low-carbon design, the conference offers rare space to test ideas beyond the constraints of client briefs.

Also on 5 March, the UCD Urban Design Masterclass returns with Ulrik Raysse, founder of ARROW. With offices in Copenhagen, Dublin and Warsaw, the practice has delivered significant projects here including Dublin Landings, Connolly Quarter and the Dún Laoghaire Harbour masterplan. Raysse will address a deceptively simple question: how heavy is your urban design? Danish planning tradition favours lightness (clear structures, legible narratives and human scale). The real challenge lies in knowing what to bring and what to leave behind when working across different contexts. For practitioners working on Ireland’s evolving urban frameworks, this talk offers valuable external perspective. Henry J Lyons is proud to sponsor this series.

If your focus is construction systems rather than urban theory, the MMC Ireland National Summit takes place the same day at The Johnstown Estate, County Meath. Ireland’s essential annual gathering for modern methods of construction brings together policymakers, developers, contractors and manufacturers to advance the systemisation of Irish Construction. Sessions examine standardisation, digital workflows, skills development and the environmental case for offsite delivery. Contributors include Cairn Homes, Sisk, Ballymore, Glenveagh’s NUA Manufacturing and academics from UCD and Construct Innovate.

The RIAI Simon Open Door campaign launches on 9 March, offering registered architects a direct way to contribute expertise whilst supporting vital homelessness services. Taking place from 13-19 of April, this annual collaboration invites homeowners to book hour-long consultations on renovations, extensions or retrofit in exchange for a donation. Every participating architect gives their time for free. Every cent raised goes directly to Simon Communities of Ireland. For practices, it is an opportunity to engage with the public in a structured, meaningful way. For the profession, it reinforces architecture’s civic role at domestic scale. If your practice has capacity, consider registering through the RIAI.

Between the lectures and summits, International Women’s Day on 8 March is a good reason to visit the National Museum of Ireland’s permanent Eileen Gray exhibition, posthumously fulfilling one of her final ambitions: to have her work brought home. The exhibition presents iconic pieces including the adjustable chrome table and the non-conformist chair, alongside personal items (family photographs, lacquering tools and ephemera) that trace her development from art student in London and Paris to seasoned experimental architect. Gray’s work reminds us that conviction, precision and a willingness to challenge convention can define a career.

For another perspective on Gray’s legacy, Eamon O’Kane’s first solo exhibition at Hillsboro Fine Art, Dublin, explores creative spaces as living archives. Running from 5 February to 4 April 2026, Studio, House, Museum presents new paintings from O’Kane’s ‘Ideal Collection’ series alongside works responding to the studios and homes of artists and architects, with particular focus on Eileen Gray’s E-1027.

Visiting E-1027 remains one of my most treasured architectural experiences. Her house perches above the Mediterranean at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. To walk through those spaces, to understand how she choreographed light, air and proportion at the scale of daily life, is to grasp what rigour and creative independence can achieve. If the lengthening evenings have you thinking of summer trips, book flights to Nice. The house sits an hour along the coast, well worth the journey.