The Goethe Institute Ireland
To design and plan the InTransit network study trip to Dublin. The aim was for the international network to see how initiatives around place-making develop in Dublin and to exchange challenges and solutions across cities. InTransit was a network of change-makers in northwest Europe that was connected through the Goethe Institutes in each major city.
The event took place in a vacant Georgian building on Merrion Square. We organized a day of informal and formal networking activities, enabling the visitors to tell their stories, compare the environment around urban regeneration in the different cities, and share knowledge and best practices.
The second part that evening – we invited along with our network of people interested in the reuse of space, and other diverse stakeholders. Attendees journeyed through the building, on a mission to reimagine a vacant space. A UCD Architecture student presented a real vacant space in the city as well as information about the building and the context to guide each group.
Together, they brainstormed ideas for space, then they traveled downstairs. They each took a table and then experts around reusing vacant space gave advice on how to make the idea happen. Following the journey was a long-table dinner at which the ideas for the spaces were shared and visiting European initiatives presented their own projects in their cities.
Goethe Institute, InTransit network, Reusing Dublin, What If Dublin, UCD School of Architecture
100 attendees
5 European initiatives
14 reuse ideas for vacant spaces
Countless number of networking connections
“Connect the Dots did an amazing job on bringing the right people together and creating an atmosphere that made a great evening of discussions possible. Their concept is unique and effective. We have already worked with Connect the Dots and are looking forward to working with Connect the Dots again”Barbara Ebert, Goethe Institut Ireland