SEVEN STOREYS, BRIMFUL OF TALENT
Welcome to The Design Tower, where refinement has
been celebrated for over two centuries.
The Design Tower stands out in the 21st Century as
a beacon of good design – home to a vibrant
community of exceptionally gifted, award-winning
designers, artists and craftspeople. They are all highly
experienced professionals in creative businesses, who
operate in a totally approachable atmosphere. So you
can come in and meet directly with the key creative
people who actually make the work.
This ethos of creativity has been there from the
beginning. The Tower began life in 1862 as a sugar
refinery built by the renowned theatre architect,
Alfred Derbyshire. With the engineer Sir William
Fairbairn, he designed a distinctive building that was
a revelation for its time, innovative in its concept and
use of materials. In 1978, the IDA bought the Tower,
preserving and restoring it as the centrepiece of
their new Enterprise Centre which continues today
under the auspices of Trinity College.
The Tower’s modern history as a centre of design
goes back to 1983 when its restoration won a Europa
Nostra award, the first of many accolades, including
several commendations from the Royal Institute of
Architects in Ireland.
As a listed building with an impeccable pedigree, the
Tower continues to fascinate today. It’s a standardbearer
for fine design, among the best in Europe.
Now, the entire Docklands area is catching up: in the
coming years it will be transformed by cutting-edge
buildings from some of the world’s most original,
acclaimed and significant architects.
The seven-storey Design Tower is alive with talent.
In these pages, you’ll discover goldsmiths, jewellery
designers, ceramics artists, sculptors, painters, textile
conservationists, paper-conservationists, gallery
spaces, a delightful café and more.
We look forward to welcoming you in person.
