Open House is well known for its annual event, Open House London, which explores and showcases some 700 buildings, taking place over a weekend every September. Established in 1993, this event has been tagged as the capital’s greatest architectural showcase and it’s free!
Open House has been providing education programmes for over 10 years, and annually works with 3,000 young people. All the programmes are free to schools (depending on available funding), and draw on its experience as a leader in the field of architecture education.
Robert Clack Comprehensive student taking a photo of Barking Central on a visit with his school © Ashley Bingham and Mark Ellis, A&M Photography
Junior Open House and Open Up
Junior Open House and Open Up, which are primary and secondary programmes respectively, aim to inspire young people through understanding and appreciation of the capital’s past and present architecture.
Both programmes are open to state schools across London. Junior Open House generally runs between April and July. Open Up generally runs between September and January.
Programme structure
Each programme starts with a teacher training seminar to help teachers and architects plan the student workshops and visits, understand each other’s roles in the programme and how to approach the design brief. Open House then organises a visit for each class to an exemplary building in London where students are led by an architect or designer to interact with and learn from the building and space.
The second half of the programme includes an in-school workshop where architects work with students on a design brief, following a different theme each year. For 2008 the overall theme for the education programmes was sustainability, and for Open Up, the design brief was a choice between designing a green roof or creating a sustainable redesign for a derelict building.
Students have the opportunity to interpret their experiences from the visit and subsequently develop practical design skills. They are encouraged to realise the potential of their own ideas. Skills such as team building, independent thinking and problem-solving are among the many that young people gain through these two programmes.
The programme ends with an awards event to showcase and celebrate the work students have produced during the programme.
An average of 25 schools gain access to each programme annually. For enquiries about these programmes, visit Open House.
My City Too ambassadors © Open House
A unique campaign for young people
My City Too is a young Londoners’ campaign for better places and spaces developed by Open House. It is a pioneering campaign that started as a one-year initiative, but it has been so successful that it is running for a second year, and will hopefully continue.
My City Too is an out-of-school programme for young people in London between the ages of 12 and 19. It provides a platform for young people to express their aspirations for the future of London’s built environment. This has been embodied in its manifesto, which was constructed from action research and a survey of 2,000 young people and based on their opinions of their local built environment.
‘Let us have our say and young people will be fully involved in planning, designing and decision-making in their city.’
Read more of the manifesto at the My City Too website.
Currently there are 35 young people (ambassadors) involved in My City Too, representing the boroughs of London. The ambassadors meet one Saturday a month to learn more about the built environment, visit a site and share views, problems and possible solutions.
The programme provides a platform for young people, giving them the tools to express their opinions to the city’s decision-makers in a meaningful way. These young people have the opportunity to meet architects and representatives from local authorities, and have shared their manifesto with mayoral candidates. In 2010 the My City Too initiative will create a local area ambassador network with which local councillors will be able to interact and consult.
Teachers will find this is a great way to empower young people by ensuring their concerns and aspirations are profiled and valued. Interested students can make an enquiry about how to get involved direct to Open House.
Go back to the article, 'Diversity of learning opportunities at local architecture centres' or read what the Bristol Architecture Centre are doing.
Find an architecture and built environment centre near you under the below referenced venues list.
