The material that connects

As part of Irish Design Week 2025, TU Dublin and Merenda present a panel discussion and exhibition of completed works and works in progress, celebrating collaboration between students, educators, and industry.

This exhibition will take place Nov 17th - 21st 2025 in TU Dublin School of Art and Design, East Quad, Grangegorman (D07 XFF2)
Panel Discussion : Thursday, Nov 20th, 6pm-8pm in EQ-116 (Book your place through Eventbrite here)

In response to this year’s theme, “The ties that tie, and the links that link”, TU Dublin Interior & Furniture Design students were challenged with a real-world brief: to design seating or accessories for a new Dublin café called Link. The project asked students to integrate sustainability, functionality, and storytelling into their prototypes, while drawing inspiration from the café’s name as a symbol of connection.
To support this process, students worked with ALPI veneer, a sustainable material developed with international designers that bridges tradition and innovation, craft and technology, and local practice with global design. As both a surface and a symbol, the veneer offered an ideal medium for exploring how material-driven design can foster connections across disciplines, generations, and cultures.