Join us on the 19 or 20 September as we take part in Open House London, the capital’s largest annual festival of architecture and design, offering visitors an opportunity to see great architecture free. Open House London is the capital’s largest annual festival of architecture and design, taking place on 19 & 20 September 2015.
Open House was started in 1992 as a small, not-for-profit organisation to promote public awareness and appreciation of the capital’s building design and architecture. The intention was to open up London’s splendid buildings to the general public who don’t otherwise have access. This as a way of helping the wider community to become more knowledgeable, engage in dialogue and make informed judgements on architecture.
Buildings surround the city but the one thing we do not learn about in schools is the fabric of a place, such as the structure, framework or composition. The urban fabric of our community has such a strong impact on us on an everyday basis.
Perceptions of the city have changed over the past 20 years. Public space, including landscape architecture, are now recognised as essential parts of a city. Open-City has taken the original initiative one step further by including public spaces and infrastructure. While the public may already have access to these areas, the point of Open-City is to draw attention to the value that public space offers to the community, broadening dialogue further.
The main role is advocacy. The main objetive is to help change perceptions, break down barriers and inspire people to demand high-quality places for current and future generations. The organization´s pioneering programmes and initiatives are designed to meet the needs of decision-makers, young people and the wider community. And it is the success of the approach as an advocacy body that has positioned the event as a progressive and influential authority among these groups.
The concept has become so successful it has spread to 30 cities worldwide. These are New York, Dublin, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Helsinki, Melbourne, Galway, Barcelona, Slovenia, Chicago, Rome, Lisbon, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Thessaloniki, Limerick, Buenos Aires, Gdansk-Sopot-Gdynia, Athens, Vienna,Vilnius, Monterrey, Cork, Belfast, Prague, Porto, with Madrid, Milan, Venice and Oslo joining soon. All cities are part of the Open House Worldwide Family, which strongly holds that the ethos behind the original event remains consistent.
