London is a city best shared. This year’s Open House Festival is in partnership with Airbnb Learn more
London is a city best shared. This year’s Open House Festival is in partnership with Airbnb Learn more
Discover London’s Design Homes
Meet Henning Stummel , an architect who shares his home during the Open House Festival and on Airbnb
Attendees, volunteers, and contributors need to register Learn more
Architectural showspace on the first floor of a duplex unit in the City’s Royal Exchange (the ground floor houses clothing boutique, GOFF COURTNEY, which also sells accessories, visual books & magazines. INTERMISSION is exhibiting three-dimensional artworks by architect Misha Stefan and RE:PLACE – proposing alternative, more inclusive destinations for three prominent gateway sites in the City.
William Tite, 1844
Welcome to "Echoes of Transformation: London Through Time," where you'll embark on a journey exploring the evolution of London’s architecture, from its historic brick and stone buildings to the towering glass and steel skyscrapers of today. The city’s ever-changing skyline reflects the shifting ideas, technologies, and values that have shaped it over the centuries.
Christopher Wren, 1672
Formed of a series of brick volumes set on the centre of a quiet backland site, 31/44 Architects completed a new-build family home that is deceptively open and light inside its strong masonry exterior. The mass echoes the informal backs of adjacent houses and begins to express the internal layout, where different height spaces lend hierarchy to the principal rooms.
31/44 Architects, 2016
Our story begins in 1841. Richard Benyon pays for a church in West Hackney “to enhance the character and add lustre to the new estate” of De Beauvoir Town. St Peter’s is built in the ‘Gothic Revival’ style and later extended as part of catholic movement in the Church of England. St Peter’s continues. We’re excited to write the next chapter of our life!
-, 1841
An exhibition of work by artists Flora Hunt and Lac Milan at The Chapel, Brompton Cemetery. This grade II listed, domed 19th century chapel at one of London’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ cemeteries will be open for the weekend, hosting an exhibition exploring urban space, nature, anxiety, local history and community, featuring drawing, sculpture, film and a participatory communal singing project.
Benjamin Baud, 1840
The Smallest Gallery in Soho is a historic shop-front which faces onto 62 Dean Street, in the heart of Soho. The aim of this creative space is to display artwork that captures people’s attention on their journey through Soho and encourage them to stop, think and be inspired. The art displays are only to be viewed from the street and can be seen at any time of the day.
, 1911
Come and join us to explore this historic market and its evolution. View images of it's historic past and its part in bringing us such exotic items as tomatoes, olive oil and grapefruit. Take a photograph from the same spot to recreate Oasis's iconic What's the story? (Morning Glory) album cover. Information point and advice on exploring other Soho Open House locations and events.
The North Arch Arts Space invites you to explore its artists' work in a newly designed framework by A347, focused on fostering community-minded practices. With spaces centered around a communal core, the open layout encourages collaboration and interaction. Meet the artists, experience their work firsthand, and purchase directly from them, making artistic creation a tool for community building.
A347, 2024
Come visit us at Gather, a hot glass studio in Charlton / Woolwich for an open studio day. On Saturday 21st September, we are running a number of pre-book short, exciting classes where participants will 'blow their own bauble' for £55 each. At 3pm we will host a free studio tour with glass blowing demonstrations. Visit us see the process in action!
Designed by Edward George Rivers and built by Kirk and Randall in 1882–3, 1882
Start your exploration of the Open House Soho Neighbourhood with a shot of coffee, a refreshing cold drink and a bite to eat. Explore our newly installed timeline of Soho, and our existing display on the church's history. Relax in our calm and welcoming gardens. Starting point for the Creative Soho Walking Tours.
Open House of 7 Meadow Lane, Charmaine McNally’s home and garden. Charmaine was one the self-build leaders in this 14 home women-led community self-build scheme. Meadow Lane was originally the third of Fusion Jameen’s schemes. Tim Oshodi was engaged as self-build consultant, with project management and cost control provided by Survey Design Partnership and Martin Hughes, the contracts manager.
, 2000
Join us on a guided walk following the 'Tottenham Tales' trail. Tottenham has a rich and fascinating tapestry of tales of local rebels, artists, pioneers and more. The tour will take us around South Tottenham, a treasure hunt for the new Tottenham Tale signage that highlights the buildings and sites that hold remnants of these tales, supported by an online map to bring archive material to life.
Located in the Seven Dials Conservation Area, David Kohn Architects' tiered rooftop extension creates a new family home that responds to the richness of its historic context, the surrounding rooflines, and the robustness of the existing brick warehouse building beneath. Please note: No photography allowed.
David Kohn Architects, 2024
Come visit us at Gather, a hot glass studio in Charlton / Woolwich for an open studio day. On Saturday 21st September, we are running a number of pre-book short, exciting classes where participants will 'blow their own bauble' for £55 each. At 3pm we will host a free studio tour with glass blowing demonstrations. Visit us see the process in action!
Designed by Edward George Rivers and built by Kirk and Randall in 1882–3, 1882
The team behind the Swing Bridge will describe its inception, evolution, and construction process and how a community deepened their relationship with this pivotal structure that bridges old and new. Palaeontologists and geologists who have researched the site in detail will take you on a behind-the-scenes tour of the constructed outcrops that give the Deep Time narrative to the CP Dinosaurs.
Tonkin Liu, 2021
Morden College is a charity dedicated to supporting older people, founded in 1695 by the pioneering merchant, Sir John Morden. The original 1695 Grade I listed Quadrangle by Edward Strong, Sir Christopher Wren's master stonemason, has provided older people with accommodation for over 300 years. Across the site and beautiful grounds, the John Morden Centre, a new community space, won the RIBA Stirling prize in 2023.
Mae Architects, 2021
Join us for a one-hour walking tour of the City of London, starting at the site of the Migration Museums future home. Find out about our 12-year journey to build Britain’s missing museum, our exciting plans for our permanent home, and discover some of the rich migration histories that surround the site.
Walking tour
Join a captivating journey through the City of London with our exclusive Muslim Heritage Tour. Discover the deep connections of Salahuddin Ayubi and marvel at the UK's oldest Muslim statues, dating back 1000 years. Uncover the legacy of England’s most famous Middle Eastern immigrant and delve into fascinating tales of crime and health in history.
Join Space Black and staff from Shepherd's Bush Market for a tour exploring the importance of the market to the African and SWANA community in London. This 110-year-old market boasts a rich cultural heritage and a diverse community of traders. You’ll find everything from food to textiles and tailoring services.
Join SAVE and Dr Tom Bolton on a walking tour of Aldwych. Behind the wide formal streets of Aldwych and Kingsway lies a very different neighbourhood. Clare Market and Drury Lane were a tangle of disreputable alleys until the new streets cut them in half. But traces remain, and this walk dives into the back streets to track the vanished lanes and recreate their past at the core of ancient London.
Have you ever wondered as you wandered what exactly led to a bench looking like that, why London's telephone boxes are red, what those green huts are, and why there are no public toilets anymore...? If the answer is 'YES!' then join us as we saunter around Temple and the Strand with these questions in mind, stopping to peek at parts of the city fabric that we often overlook – and learning about the designers and 'deciders' behind the scenes.
This walking tour will draw comparisons between the progress and demise of the postwar welfare state. Focusing on housing and healthcare, the tour will present prominent examples from the era and discuss ways these are being adapted to meet contemporary challenges, such as the housing crisis and ongoing maintenance. The ambition of the tour is to reassess the value of postwar architecture today.
London is the ultimate urban sprawl. But hiding among the buildings and cars there are an estimated eight million trees. So who else do we share our city with? Do you have a neighbourhood goose? Are there really seals in the River Thames? Join Lucy Brown from wildlife conservation charity ZSL on a journey through London's wild alter-ego, via the parks and waterways of Camden and Westminster.
Trace the lost river and discover the abandoned island of Channelsea, then visit the newly founded urban oasis of Abbey Gardens on this walk, talk and eat exploration of this hidden history of the tidal Lea Valley and site of London's now rapidly vanishing industrial past. Consider the opportunity to make new urban green spaces that celebrate both wild and man made environments in harmony.
Public Works, 2006
The doors to the building will be opened to the public. Not only will visitors get the opportunity to see "behind the scenes" but they will have the opportunity to bring along their food and drink and join the Our Pastures Community Garden Picnic, join taster sessions from site regulars and find out more about what takes place onsite. Activity fully booked? Waiting list: hello@weflockcic.org.uk
-, 1880
Drop in / Family activity
institution/profession, scientific, library
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) moved into Burlington House 150 years ago in 1874. Part of the extension to Burlington House to provide accommodation for learned societies, the building was refurbished in 2007. The RAS is the oldest astronomical society in the world and has been encouraging and promoting the study of astronomy and geophysics since 1820.
Robert Richardson Banks and Charles Barry, 1874
Drop in / Family activity
institution/profession, education, gallery, health, library, museum, online
Striking, provocative and one of London’s few Grade I listed post-war buildings. As we celebrate 60 years since our unique building was opened we invite you to drop in, explore our archives, take a tour and more to discover this award-winning building from its modernist lines to dramatic interiors. See https://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/event/open-house-festival-2024 for more.
Sir Denys Lasdun, 1964
Drop in / Family activity
community/cultural, concert/performance space, religious, online
A Grade I and II* treasure that’s home to an inclusive church, an award winning venue, a unique organ and The Margins Project for those in crisis in London. Family Organ Building Workshops are generously supported by the Institute of Physics.
James Cubitt, 1877
Built in 1817 and located at the terminus of York Gate, Regent’s Park, St Marylebone Parish Church is one of the most significant landmarks of Marylebone. Our parish church has shaped and has been shaped by the community of Marylebone, even giving the village its name and providing continual spiritual and pastoral care for the community for over 900 years.
Thomas Hardwick, 1817
Through the keyhole of special spaces and places across London and beyond.
Open City is a charity dedicated to making London and its architecture more open, accessible and equitable.
We open up buildings, conversations and careers to those normally locked out of them.
Accelerate empowers young Londoners to pursue careers in architecture, landscape and city-making.
Volunteer your time, make a one off donation or become an Open City Friend and receive a package of exciting rewards.