- HISTORY
THE DESIGN TOWER
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.
