Open House Festival

Collections

Back to collections

Humanise

What makes a building interesting, characterful and joyful? Humanise is a global movement calling for more joyful, engaging and human buildings and cities.

This collection brings together buildings across London that explore the ideas behind Humanise and demonstrate how the places around us can shape us, connect us and bring us joy.

Explore the collection and discover the Humanise Spotter’s Guide and special self-guided walking tour around King’s Cross, as well as other buildings and spaces across London that bring the Humanise principles to life.

Drop in

Avery Hill Winter Garden

garden

The Avery Hill Winter Garden is a remarkable Victorian glasshouse set within the historic Avery Hill estate in southeast London. Built in the late 19th century, it was once home to an extensive collection of exotic plants and remains one of London’s largest surviving Victorian winter gardens.

T. W. Cutler, 1888

Drop in

City Information Centre

community/cultural

London's main tourist information centre is clad in a specially manufactured system of 220 pre-finished stainless steel panels. The subtly reflective surface provides a striking counterpoint to St Paul's.

Make Architects, 2007

Drop in

Fullwell Cross Library

library

The library was built on an open site in Barkingside High Street. Circular library design copies nearby roundabout. Complex is set back from the pavement, to form a new local civic centre with a public space. Refurbished 1990 and 2011.

Coombes & Partners, Frederick Gibberd, H C Connell, 1958

Drop in

Guildhall Yard: Meet the Pearly Kings and Queens

miscellaneous, community/cultural, civic

Publicly accessible space outside the spectacular Grade I listed medieval civic Guildhall.

George Dance the Younger, 1789

Drop in

Heatherwick Studio at Making House

architectural practice

Visit Making House, the London home of Heatherwick Studio, a team of over 280 problem solvers dedicated to making the physical world around us better for everyone. Explore our new exhibition and the exciting stories of London Olympia, Little Island in New York, the central business district in Xi’an, and Birmingham City's football stadium, among many other extraordinary design projects.

Heatherwick Studio, 2023

Drop in

Humanise Spotters Guide: King's Cross

architectural practice

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.

Drop in

Phoenix Gardens Community Building

community/cultural, garden

The first purpose-built new-build community centre to be built in the heart of Soho for generations, located within the renowned Phoenix Gardens. Winner: RIBA London Award. Designed by RIBA London Architect of the Year Winner.

Office Sian Architecture + Design, 2018

Drop in

Suleymaniye Mosque

religious

6-storey building featuring a Western exterior and traditional Islamic interior, modelled on the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Has dome and minaret tower.

Networld Project Management, 1996