Trading Spaces – Resources and Dwellings 

Rumsliga Utbyten: Resurser och Boenden – ett idéutbyte mellan nyetablerade arkitekter i Sverige och Irland med workshops och besök i de båda huvudstäderna Dublin och Stockholm under hösten 2023. Samarbetet finansieras av den Irländska Ambassaden i Sverige.

In the design of housing, innovative ideas and solutions are needed that enable society to dwell lightly, sustainably and securely on the earth. At a time of material scarcity, knowledge transfer and experience remain an abundant resource in how architects design and act. Trading Spaces: Resources and Dwellings is a platform for conversation and knowledge transfer between architects from Ireland and Sweden. In providing the platform, theIrish Architecture Foundation (Dublin, Ireland) and Färgfabriken (Stockholm, Sweden), with support from the Irish Embassy in Sweden, will enable early career architects and practitioners to share and transfer their knowledge and experience, discussing and confronting questions they face in their work and practices. 

What design solutions are emerging in housing to address the question of natural resources and acknowledgement of a planetary boundary? How does an evolving energy imperative change how we think about building resilient housing and communities? How are questions of resource scarcity affecting architecture and landscape architecture practices? Conversely, how can the unique skills of an architect impact and direct our activities in these contexts? Given that architecture is culturally, politically and locally specific, Trading Spaces seeks to identify what skills, knowledge and experiences can be shared across borders, given this is a crisis and a challenge which, to be faced locally, requires “global solidarity”. 

This Open Call seeks up to three early career architects from Ireland and up to three early career architects from Sweden whose practices engage with the project themes in inventive ways. This invention and innovation might be reflected in their building practices; it may be present in the materials with which they work; through new approaches to conceptualising dwelling or housing; or it might be found in practice-based research relevant to the themes. Ultimately, it applies to any architects in the built environment who have been seeking to adapt and expand their methodologies, practices and designs in response to expected or existing economies of energy and/or resources. The Call seeks  those who have made discoveries or identified needs in their work and have the willingness both to share with and support colleagues.

In purely pragmatic terms, Trading Spaces will involve a delegation of a maximum of three Sweden-based architects being given the opportunity to visit Dublin in late September 2023, and then a maximum of three Ireland-based architects being given the chance to visit Stockholm in November. These cohorts will be selected in a coordinated open call process in both countries. The call is aimed at early career architects. For the purposes of this call, ‘early career’ is taken to mean individuals who have been in practice for between 2–10 years.

During the two visits which will last roughly 2–3 days in both instances, the selected architects will have the opportunity to review, discuss and share each other’s practices and key architectural sites of interest (related to the theme) in the host countries. 

Beyond the pragmatic, Trading Spaces  is an exchange of skills between emerging thinkers and actors in architecture from two countries which themselves have strong architectural identities, and which sit in the Atlantic and Nordic regions of the EU. In addition, this exchange represents a first collaboration between two institutions that are embedded in the capital cities of Ireland and Sweden. Both institutions operate at the intersection of the advancement of public culture architecture and the creative advancement of individuals working within architecture and the built environment.

Applicants are required to fill in an online application form that asks for some basic details and for notes on the applicant’s engagement with the project theme. They are also required to submit a short introductory video outlining their interest in the exchange. 

All applications must be submitted before 6pm (Irish time) on Friday 21st July. Late applications will not be accepted.

The selection will be made by a panel of members from the partner organisations (IAF and Färgfabriken) and an independent expert with knowledge of the project theme. Using the submitted form and your submitted video, the panel will make a selection based on the following criteria:

In the event that not enough suitable candidates meet the above selection criteria, the organisers reserve the right to invite individuals to participate in Trading Spaces. 

The exchange will send a minimum of two and a maximum of three delegates from each country. The organisers’ decision about who, and how many delegates to select, will be informed by the available final budget, the strength of the applications received as well as the perceived compatibility and potential for collaboration between the delegations in both countries. 

If you belong to a larger organisation and would like to nominate multiple members of your practice, that is allowed, as long as you can make a case for why this is important. The maximum is two architects from a single practice. Note, the organisers reserve the right to invite one member of a practice to participate in the exchange, even if two are nominated by that practice.

This call is aimed at early career architects. For the purposes of this call, ‘early career’ is taken to mean individuals who have been in practice for between 2-10 years.

Travelling costs, accommodation and a daily stipend will all be provided to the selected delegates during the exchanges. These will all be organised by the partner organisations in the months leading up to the exchanges. There will be no further fee available for participation. 

We look forward to hearing from you!

Please address any enquiries to projects@architecturefoundation.ie.

Established in 2005, the Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF) is Ireland’s independent organisation dedicated to the promotion of architecture as culture.

Established in 1995, Färgfabriken is an independent foundation dedicated to the promotion and visualisation of the arts and architecture in Sweden.

Stockholms Arkitektförening, SA, The Association of Stockholm Architects is a local association, sorting under Architects Sweden, the collective trade union and professional organisation for all architects in Sweden.

The Embassy works to advance the bilateral relationship between Ireland and Sweden including political, business, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. The Embassy also provides consular services to Irish citizens and visa services.