For one weekend every September, hundreds of London buildings that are normally shut, private or simply unnoticed open their doors for free. The charity behind it has been doing this since 1992, and it does not stop when the festival ends.
At a glance
Open City is a London charity working to make the built environment more open, accessible and equitable. Its best-known project is the Open House Festival, the annual weekend of free access to buildings and landscapes that began in London in 1992 and has since been copied in more than sixty cities worldwide. Around the festival the charity runs a year-round programme: guided architecture walking tours, private tours on request, talks, podcasts and publications, and an education arm that works directly in London schools. Its chief executive is Manijeh Verghese; the board is chaired by Jim Minton.
Key facts
- Open House Festival — held each September; the 2019 edition featured over 800 buildings, plus neighbourhood walks, architects’ talks and cycle tours
- Reach — the charity gives 250,000 Londoners a year access to architecture and landscapes they are normally locked out of
- Education — over 8,000 young people across 50 London schools each year
- Accelerate — an award-winning mentoring programme for young people traditionally excluded from architecture
- Open House Worldwide — a network of more than 60 Open House festivals across the world
- Walking tours — a year-round programme across London, from the Barbican and the City to Brixton, Stoke Newington, Clerkenwell and Poplar
- Status — registered charity no. 1072104, company no. 03159878; 100% of proceeds support its educational programmes and events
From one London weekend to sixty cities
The festival started in London in 1992, with Victoria Thornton as its first director. The premise was simple and, at the time, untested: ask the owners of buildings that Londoners walk past every day — livery halls, government offices, private houses, power stations, social housing estates — to open them for free for one weekend, with no ticket and no membership.
It worked, and it kept growing. By 2019 the programme ran to more than 800 buildings alongside neighbourhood walks, architects’ talks and cycle tours. The model travelled too: Open House festivals now run in over sixty cities, from New York and Chicago to Brno, coordinated through the Open House Worldwide network.
The charity’s own framing has shifted over three decades, from access for its own sake to something more pointed. Open City now describes its work as empowering communities to learn about, feel connected to, and have a role in shaping the places where they live. That is why the education programme and the Accelerate mentoring scheme sit alongside the festival rather than beneath it: the buildings are the door, not the destination.
The walks
Outside the festival weekend, the guided walking tours are how most visitors meet Open City. The programme moves across London rather than circling the tourist centre. Recent months have included the Golden Lane and Barbican estates, Wren’s churches in the City, the Design District on the Greenwich Peninsula, the City at night, Stoke Newington, Brixton, Clerkenwell and Poplar, along with boat tours on the Thames.
Private tours are also available, and Open City is happy for them to be promoted. Groups can commission a walk for their own date. The tours are led by guides who work with the charity, and the fees go back into the educational programmes rather than to shareholders — Open City is a charity, and says so on every page.
Practical information
- What’s on — the current tour programme and booking is at open-city.org.uk/events
- Open House Festival — every September; the building list is published in advance and most venues are free
- Private tours — available on request through the charity
- Contact — the office inbox is checked once a day, Monday to Thursday, with a reply usually within two working days
- Support — all proceeds fund the charity’s education programmes and events
Getting there
Open City is based at the Design District on the Greenwich Peninsula, a short walk from North Greenwich station on the Jubilee line. The walking tours, however, start wherever the walk starts: the meeting point is given with each booking. GPS: 51.4999° N, 0.0058° E — open in Google Maps.
Nearby
- The Design District, Greenwich Peninsula — the charity’s own base and the subject of one of its walks
- The Barbican Estate and Golden Lane Estate in the City of London
- The City churches rebuilt after 1666, covered by the Wren walking tour
Sources
- Open City — About (mission, reach, education figures, Accelerate, leadership)
- Open City — Events (current walking tour programme)
- Open House London, Wikipedia (1992 founding, Victoria Thornton, 800 buildings in 2019, worldwide network)
- Charity Commission for England and Wales — registered charity no. 1072104
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