Open House
Festival 12-20.9.26

Formerly home to the Pimlico Library, the building was transformed into a vibrant, friendly and welcoming community hub.

Darbourne and Darke, 1968

The club has been supporting working people of Chinese Heritage since 1962 and providing space for cultural activities. Come and learn about our history. Hear music on traditional Chinese instruments and learn about Chinese chess, all over a warming cup of tea.

Have the moths made a meal of your favourite jumper? Are your jeans coming undone at the seams? Join Make Mee Studio and Lewisham Council to learn how to prolong the life of your clothes and homewares, whether it's darning a sock or patching a cushion cover we can show you how to mend and repair and bring it back to life.

The Caravan Gallery is a unique documentary photography project and exhibition focused on Croydon's built environment. The Caravan Gallery photograph the sur/reality of everyday life and work with communities to explore people's connection to place, exhibiting their photographs of the area in a small caravan.

The Caravan Gallery is a unique documentary photography project and exhibition focused on Croydon's built environment. The Caravan Gallery photograph the sur/reality of everyday life and work with communities to explore people's connection to place, exhibiting their photographs of the area in a small caravan.

The Caravan Gallery is a unique documentary photography project and exhibition focused on Croydon's built environment. The Caravan Gallery photograph the sur/reality of everyday life and work with communities to explore people's connection to place, exhibiting their photographs of the area in a small caravan.

A new mural celebrating the 750th anniversary of Croydon’s Street Market, A 1276 Royal Charter granted Croydon a weekly market which ran in the triangle around what we now know as Surrey Street, it is one of the oldest continuous markets in London. Commissioned from South London artist Vic Lee, the mural will share the surprising stories, facts and memories from the market’s remarkable history.

The building has had many incarnations since its construction in the 1890s as a woolen warehouse. It became a home to the Italian Benevolent Society, then a fascist club, a serviceman's club, and now a library with the largest publicly accessible collection of Chinese language books in the UK.

Michael Rachlis, 1891

Our regular volunteer session caring for our wildlife garden, food forest, tiny forest, pond, swales, trees and meadows. Learn about gardening, biodiversity and community action in an urban setting from the Friends group. We will be talking about our journey to create habitats, improve access, and boost climate resilience, and the impacts for the Fields' biodiversity and the local community.

Join our community food growing project for a day and discover the joy of being in an intimate, safe, outdoors space. Meet likeminded people and get involved in a range of activities from weeding to turning compost or design a project you'd like us and the wider community to get involved in.

The story of Pimlico Library reflects the wider history of the neighbourhood, demonstrating how community buildings can adapt and evolve while remaining at the heart of local life. It is unusual in that it shares the Pimlico Academy Campus with Westminster's Adult Education Service.

ArchitecturePLB, 2011

Ever wondered just what makes a building interesting, characterful and joyful? It’s not just a vague sensation or an indescribable feeling. There are specific things you can look for. Explore the buildings around you using the Humanise Spotter’s Guide, a mobile-friendly guide which invites you to look more closely at the buildings around us, and think about how they’re shaping how we all feel.

This year marks LUC’s 60th anniversary. We are celebrating a legacy founded by two landscape architects and an ecologist, built on creativity, collaboration, and meaningful design. To mark the occasion, we are showcasing five projects highlighting the breadth and diversity of LUC’s work across disciplines and design approaches. Together, they demonstrate our thoughtful and impactful work.

The landmarked 1950s building has been transformed by Philippe Starck into a surreal Cocteau like dream world, epitomising a new luxury that is smart, pared down and tempered with a healthy dose of wit and irony. With rooms designed by designer Tim Andreas of Banjo, the rooms maintain their sense of whimsy while offering state of the art details and luxurious touches at every turn.

Reginald H Uren, 1958

Bridge House is a mixed-use building by Studioshaw with 40 apartments and commercial space. The design is a new vernacular for multi-unit residential development in London. All apartments are dual-aspect and share a rooftop garden, with balconies over the canal and new public square. The facade is made from concrete elements cast only 750m from site. The building's structure is its architecture.

studioshaw, 2026

This year marks LUC’s 60th anniversary. We are celebrating a legacy founded by two landscape architects and an ecologist, built on creativity, collaboration, and meaningful design. To mark the occasion, we are showcasing five projects highlighting the breadth and diversity of LUC’s work across disciplines and design approaches. Together, they demonstrate our thoughtful and impactful work.

Tour of Newham's first circular economy construction hub and home of our founding partners Yes Make, Material Cultures and RESOLVE Collective's Material Store. Learn about bio-circular practices and material reuse processes on site.

Material Cultures, 2026

Hear about the history of Soho on a walk around some of the sites associated with colourful characters of yesteryear. From Soho's beginnings as a fashionable suburb in the seventeenth century up to the 1950s, I regale you with delicious snippets of history. We end the tour with the option of refreshments at the birthplace of British RocknRoll.

This year marks LUC’s 60th anniversary. We are celebrating a legacy founded by two landscape architects and an ecologist, built on creativity, collaboration, and meaningful design. To mark the occasion, we are showcasing five projects highlighting the breadth and diversity of LUC’s work across disciplines and design approaches. Together, they demonstrate our thoughtful and impactful work.

Experience London's newest 3,800-capacity music venue at Olympia. This exclusive tour features: VIP Wing Lounge Access: Stunning stage views Backstage Tour: A behind-the-scenes look at production areas Star Dressing Rooms: An exclusive peek inside where headliners prepare

SPPARC ARCHITECTURE, 2026

This year marks LUC’s 60th anniversary. We are celebrating a legacy founded by two landscape architects and an ecologist, built on creativity, collaboration, and meaningful design. To mark the occasion, we are showcasing five projects highlighting the breadth and diversity of LUC’s work across disciplines and design approaches. Together, they demonstrate our thoughtful and impactful work.

Join Heatherwick Studio's Carlos Parraga-Botero on a guided walking tour of the transformed Olympia . See how this 10-year project reimagined a historic Victorian venue into a cultural neighbourhood, blending landmark design -like its glass canopy and elevated street - with sustainable urbanism. Meeting point: Olympia Marketing Suite, Motorail Carpark, Maclise Rd.

Heatherwick Studio, 2026

'Povera' meaning 'poor art' in Italian, is an ongoing project made by mixed-media artist Michael Connell. In his back garden in Catford, Michael has built an unbelievable shed, fusing art and nature, that's made entirely of waste materials from skips and people's unwanted items. Exploring themes of music, family, heritage and nature, step inside the ever-evolving magic of the Povera shed.

Michael Connell, 2014

Step inside the Print Building at Timber Square, a former 1950s printworks reimagined as a modern, low-carbon workplace. Discover how industrial heritage, innovative timber construction and sustainable design have come together to create one of Bankside's most distinctive new workplace destinations.

Bennetts Associates, 2026

A walk round Somers Town by locals founders of a museum to preserve an area that feels at risk of extinction. A Space for Us – People’s Museum Somers Town is a space to preserve local voice and the area; to celebrate an incredible ‘radical, reformers and uncommon people’s‘ histories, to record the change now, as well as to campaign and preserve local working class heritage.

Step back in time with a guided walk around the historic Excalibur Estate, the UK's largest surviving post-war prefabricated housing estate. Discover why these remarkable homes were built in the aftermath of the Second World War, explore their innovative design and architecture, and hear the stories of the people who have made Excalibur their home over the decades.

This walk will look at the history of Jewish Communities in England, starting with the medieval period through to the expulsion in 1290 and readmission under Oliver Cromwell in 1656. It will also look at some of the Jewish people living as Christians between these times and the key contributions Jews have made to many of the key landmarks in London as well as England's political life.

Join the Stall Tales local history team for a walking tour of Lewisham's market and high street. Discover the hidden history of the market, which began in the 1890s with a few unlicensed stalls, and spent decades fighting for legal recognition. We will look at the market as a temporary architecture, local retail landmarks, and reflect on the changing face of shopping in the high street.

Come and enjoy a circular 2-hour walk around Westminster, Whitehall and St James’ and hear about the events of one of the most tumultuous periods in London’s history, spanning the years 1603 (the death of Elizabeth I and arrival of James I), through Civil War, Regicide, Cromwell’s Republic, the Restoration right through to 1714 and the end of the Stuart Dynasty.

Holy Sepulchre is the City of London’s largest parish Church, also known as the National Musicians’ Church and home to the Musicians’ Memorial Chapel and The Royal Fusiliers Memorial Chapel. St Sepulchre has a long and rich history, with a worshipping community here since at least 1137, a medieval shell and tower that survived the great fire of London and a classical interior.

An unofficial walking tour of London film locations used in Star Wars. Learn about the crucial role the city played for three different empires, Roman, British, and Galactic! Discover how London's Barbican Estate was the perfect shooting location for a dystopian view of the science fiction city of Coruscant. Learn how London and the destiny of Star Wars are so deeply intertwined!

Chamberlain Powell and Bon, 1970

The story of Pimlico Library reflects the wider history of the neighbourhood, demonstrating how community buildings can adapt and evolve while remaining at the heart of local life. It is unusual in that it shares the Pimlico Academy Campus with Westminster's Adult Education Service.

ArchitecturePLB, 2011

This is a walking tour that delves into the scandalous history of Covent Garden. This tour explores a time when the area served as London’s notorious red-light district, focusing on the lives of those forced into illicit trades or marginalized by the stringent moral laws of the day. The walk will share the stories of those who lived, worked and played in the area in days gone by.

Come and discover the exciting musical world of 18th and 19th Century London when some of Europe's greatest composers and musicians came to stay. Listen to stories both successful and tragic of why these great musicians came to London - see where they lived, performed and socialised. Come and follow in the footsteps of Handel, Haydn, JC Bach, Mozart and Chopin!

A guided walk around the fascinating and often overlooked area of Aldgate in the City of London.

Join Maccreanor Lavington for a walking tour of two of the first residential buildings to be delivered at Brent Cross Town – The Delamarre and Conductor House. The buildings form an important part of the emerging new town and demonstrate how high-quality architecture landscape and public realm can come together to create a distinctive and welcoming neighbourhood.

Maccreanor Lavington, 2025

Striking, provocative and one of London’s few Grade I listed post-war buildings – welcome to architect Denys Lasdun’s award-winning design. We invite you to drop in, take an expert tour, explore our archives and museum, get creative and more to discover the Royal College of Physicians' London home. See https://history.rcp.ac.uk/event/open-house-festival-2026 for more.

Sir Denys Lasdun, 1964

The Annunciation is a dramatic Gothic Revival building tucked behind the Marble Arch end of Oxford Street. The Grade II* church was built by Sir Walter Tapper in 1912-1914.

Walter Tapper, 1912

The Grade I listed North Wing at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City of London houses two of England’s most important interiors, the Great Hall, and the Hogarth Stair with its large paintings by William Hogarth. The hospital was designed by architect James Gibbs and construction of the North Wing was completed in 1732.

James Gibbs, 1732

Tudor Manor House built for Sir William Compton in 1514, substantially altered in 17C, 18C & 19C. A museum since 1906 housing local history and community collections, archives, art & exhibitions of Bruce Castle, and Haringey area.

Unknown, 1514

English National Ballet bring world-class dance to the widest possible audience, and invite you into their home, the Mulryan Centre for Dance. Book a free tour to go behind the scenes, attend a Rehearsal Insight Session, see professional dancers take class and get up close to some beautiful ballet costumes created by our wardrobe department.

Howells, 2018