Open House London is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the architecture festival celebrates this year with its biggest event till date. The free event runs on 16th and 17h September and for the first time all London Boroughs are participating, bringing in a record 800 plus buildings, to open to the public on the weekend. The free celebration of architecture will have from government buildings to a yurt, from industrial complexes to places of worship, adding to total over 800.
Highlights of the free event include One Blackfriers, London’s newest skyscraper nicknamed ‘the Vase’; the revamped new Scotland Yard headquarters of the Metropolitan police; an urban farm in Waterloo and an exhibition at the Battersea studio of the architects Foster + Partners, celebrating the 50th anniversary.
With every borough participating, Kingston-upon-Thames has a number of properties opening its doors, including a century-old funeral directors’ premises and a 16th century conduit house. The open house concept has spread internationally too. Even Zurich and Stockholm have adopted it to hold their first event this autumn. Over 35 cities across 5 continents now hold Open House Festivals.
Victoria Thornton was the founding director of the free event Open City, that started in 1992. More than a quarter of a million people last year visited properties or attended a talk, or walk, or tour, across London. Open House as a free event not only celebrates great architecture, but also is founded on the importance of public realm. Roy Olcayto, Open House director, says getting the public to visit places and buildings that are well designed, is the best way to get Londoners speak confidently about their build environment, just as they do about art, music and books.
