THE SECRET LABORATORY Notebooks and Narratives

The Secret Laboratory reveals the hidden world of the architects’ sketchbook. Shown together as a selection of local, national and international architects – based in Ireland and Northern Ireland, the exhibition reveals the ideas, observations, thoughts and reflections that are often concealed in a drawer, a coat pocket or in the individual imagination of the architect.

In our digital age the drawing and sketch still have their value as being fundamental to artistic and theoretical practice: to record journeys, everyday objects, project development, conversations and things half seen and imagined. But what ideas do we carry with us in our pockets? How do we use the ‘device’ of the sketchbook?

The architects in this exhibition range from practitioners, to writers, lecturers, critics, illustrators and artists, all working in different areas of architecture and in different ways. Revealed now in the Secret Laboratory for the first time: a series of private reflections made public.

Exhibition opens on Tuesday 31^st January at 5pm in Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, Wood Quay (Atrium), and runs 17^th February 2012, opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am- 5pm.

The curator Paul Clarke is an architect and writer based in the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Ulster in Belfast where he is the Course Director for the Master of Architecture programme and also runs the 6^th Year Design Studio. This exhibition is part of a continuing research project by him. The exhibition was designed by Paul Clarke with Niall O’Hare (graduate of the MArch programme) who also built it in the school workshop.

Participating architects in order of display:

Tom de Paor

Shane O’Toole

Peter Cody

Ciaran Mackel

FKL  architects

Paul Clarke