This special episode is a live recording made at IAF House, Dublin on June 10th, 2024.As part of conversation series, Books Donwstairs, on books and architecture, architect and writer John Tuomey and author and visual artist Adrian Duncan discussed their books, writing, memory, growing up with engineers and knowing your place. The event was chaired by architect and academic Miriam Delaney.

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First Quarter by John Tuomey, published by Lilliput Press

In his reflective and enriching memoir, John Tuomey navigates the places and memories of his life over the scope of twenty-five years. First recognised for the urban regeneration of Dublin’s Temple Bar, which included the construction of the Irish Film Institute, the National Photographic Archive and Gallery of Photography, his life in architecture led him to design social and cultural spaces such as the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, the Glucksman Gallery in UCC and the Victoria & Albert East Museum in London. 

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.Little Republics: The Story of Bungalow Bliss by Adrian Duncan, published by Lilliput Press

Bungalow Bliss, first published in 1971, was a book of house designs that buyers could use to build a home for themselves affordably. It first appeared two years before Ireland was to join the EEC as a self-published catalogue by Jack Fitzsimons from his Kells Art Studios in County Meath. He and his wife designed and collated it and printed it locally.Fitzsimons sold these books out of his car to newsagents, petrol garages and bookshops. Over the course of thirty years, Fitzsimons sold over a quarter of a million copies of his catalogue. The first edition contained twenty designs – the final edition contained two hundred and sixty.

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Recorded live | Additional music by Rachael Lavelle.

What Buildings Do is spefically supported by the Irish Architecture Foundation in its mission to reach audiences.