Open House London, the capital’s biggest architecture festival, throws open the doors of hundreds of buildings - from Westminster to Waltham Forest, Camden to Croydon - giving Londoners the chance to see the best of the city’s architecture.
Visit Peckham Library © Adams Picture Library t/a apl / Alamy
Great buildings and the city’s public spaces shape our daily lives as we live, learn, work and play. And again, Open House, the independent charity dedicated to opening eyes, minds and doors to good design, invites Londoners to share their enthusiasm for the city’s buildings through opening properties of architectural significance across 31 boroughs.
This year’s celebration will see over 700 architectural activities from talks and tours, visits and debates and will give visitors direct access to the teams that design, construct and regenerate London. All events are free and take place 19–20 September 2009, but some may require booking. Full details of buildings and events can be found by accessing the listing on Open House’s website.
For this year’s Open House London event hundreds of fascinating buildings will be open – from eco homes to a Hindu temple, a yacht club to architects’ studios. There’ll be special focus on examples of sustainable design with the professionals who commission, plan and design them talking about regeneration and urban development and leading site visits. As always, hundreds of volunteers will be on hand to explain more about the aspects of great design that make these properties so important to the way we enjoy our city.
Visit Adelaide Wharf © Timothy Soar
Engaging Places favourites:
- The City Academy, Hackney (19 September, 10am-1pm)
- The Building Exploratory (19 September, 10am-5pm) – family activities running throughout the day.
- The Prince’s Foundation (19 September, 9.30am-1.30pm)
- Westminster Academy (19 September, 10am-4pm)
- The Bridge Academy(19 September, 10am-3pm)
- The London 2012 Olympic Park tours (19-20 September, 8.30am-6pm) Regular tours departing from Score. Max 45 per tour. Minimum age of 8 years will apply. Pre-book ONLY on 0300 2012 550. Flat shoes must be worn.
- Lloyds building (19 September, 10am-5pm) First come first serve basis, queueing if necessary. Last entry 4pm.
- City Hall (19-20 September, 9am-6pm) Last entry 5:30pm. 10am-1pm City of 1000 Architects activity for children.
- The Yellow Building – Monsoon HQ (20 September, 10am-1pm) First come basis, queuing outside if necessary.
And try the search for education buildings on the online guide. Visiting other schools is a brilliant way to gain new ideas to set up your own classroom and how to make use of the space you’ve got.
