Last month I went to the Wicklow’s Heritage Buildings Show 2015: a weekend of Traditional Building Skills Demonstrations and Conservation Talks for anyone interested in period buildings, architectural conservation and traditional building skills.
Since the kids also enjoy construction stuff we decided to make a family weekend out of this.
The location of the show was amazing – not less than the grounds of the OPW monastic site in Glendalough, County Wicklow. If you have never been there you should definitely plan a visit.
The exhibition was great with a good display of different trades and organizations.
Dry Stone Wall Construction
Architect Féile Butler building a mud wall (www.mudandwood.com)
George O’Malley Plastering
My son trying stone carving with McEvoy and Sons
A very heavy stone carving hammer!
Custom Crew Construction – Roofing Restoration
A view of the exhibition
Thatching by Kyran O’Grady
Lime and Hemp Display
We also had the UNIQUE experience of sleeping in a gipsy caravan – the kids loved it! Sitting by the fire and singing and playing songs with friends was something memorable. The caravan was comfortable and very well equipped, and the setting was amazing.
The talks part of the exhibition were very interesting, they varied from the use of lime in traditional buildings to the restoration of old slate and tile roofs.
Talk by Architect Laura Bowen
To finish the day we went for a walk to the big lake and the waterfall – fantastic. Did I mention we also saw reindeer?
All in all it was a great mix of work and pleasure and I can highly recommend the experience to fellow Architects, Conservation Contractors and anyone interested in traditional buildings and beautiful destinations.
My work is often mixed with pleasure because I love what I do, but mixing all the family to the ‘party’ does not happen that often. But it was well worth it!
Isabel Barros
