Open House Festival

Zaha Hadid Foundation

museum

Edward Robert Robson, 1874

Zaha Hadid Foundation, 10 Bowling Green Lane, EC1R 0BQ

Explore parts of this Grade II listed former Victorian primary school in Clerkenwell, once the HQ of Zaha Hadid Architects and now home to the Zaha Hadid Foundation. There will be free curator talks and a drop-in creative workshop for all ages.

Getting there

Tube

Farringdon

Train

Farringdon

Bus

19, 341, 38, 61

Additional travel info

The closest train and London Underground station is Farringdon. There are public bicycle racks outside the building.

Access

Facilities

Accessibility notes

There is a step between the main gate and the street. There is step-free access to all public spaces on the ground floor.

What you can expect

There are places to sit inside. The building is not expected to be noisy and most rooms are spacious and evenly lit.

Create a free visitor account to book festival tickets

Drop in activities

Sat 20 Sep

11:00–15:00

Drop in: Open Day

About

Curators talks (at 11.30am and repeated at 1pm)

We will host a short, curator-led talk on Zaha Hadid and the Zaha Hadid Foundation. It is repeated and take place at these times: 11.30am and 1pm. Drop-in and free, seats are available on a first come, first served basis.

Creative workshop (drop in, 11am to 3pm)

What is in a city? A city is more than just buildings and roads. It is a vibrant place where people live, work and play. Join us for a fun and creative model making workshop where participants will design and build models of their favourite buildings, spaces or places. Together, we will combine everyone’s creations to build a unique city, imagined by you and open for all to explore. Suitable for adults and children from age 7 and for all abilities.

Colouring sheets featuring buildings designed by Zaha Hadid Architects will be available for younger children. All materials will be provided. These creative activities are drop-in throughout the day and available on a first come, first served basis.

Explore the building and its history (self guided)

Most of the building is normally closed to the public. For Open House, the ground floor of our building will be open for self-guided tours between 11am and 3pm. We will have printed guides available. A new display of material and images on the building's past history as a school and the international HQ of Zaha Hadid Architects, will be opened to celebrate ZHF taking part in Open House.

Building history

This Queen Anne-style building is Grade II listed and was opened in 1874 for the School Board for London, opening as the Bowling Green Lane School. The building was designed by E.R. Robson in collaboration with J.J. Stevenson. It retains much of its original Victorian layout and exterior. In the 1970s it ceased operating as a school and in the 1980s it was divided up into artists' studios. It was once the international headquarters of Zaha Hadid Architects, beginning in 1985 when Zaha Hadid took up one of these studios. Her practice grew until it took over the whole building. Since 2022, it has been the home of the charity Zaha Hadid Foundation which is returning the building to educational uses through public exhibitions, research and a public programme of events.

Photography

Personal photography for non-commercial use is allowed. Filming or audio recording is not allowed.

Last entry

Last entry is 15 minutes before we close.

Food and drink

There are seats inside the building and we have a picnic table in the courtyard which visitors can use. People are welcome to eat or drink onsite except in the Gallery.

Children

All ages are welcome and we will have free creative activities for all ages. Children under 12 years of age must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Online presence

www.zhfoundation.com

www.instagram.com/zahahadidfoundation

www.facebook.com/zahahadidfoundation

Nearby

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