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Showing posts with label Open City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Open City. Show all posts
Sunday, 19 July 2026
Open City - Discover what's on at Open House Festival 2026 🔑
Thursday, 27 June 2019
Open City- Open House London
Architecture on the Thames East with guest speaker Richard Lavington, Maccreanor Lavington Architects - Tuesday 16 July 6.30pm
© Angus Hamilton
Some of London’s best architects are transforming the East End’s historic industrial landscape into the quintessential place to live and work in the 21st Century’s self-styled global capital. And despite the proliferations of icons across the city, including in the east – from the wild red tangle of the Orbit Tower to the sperm-whale bulk of the Aquatics Centre – it is housing, much of it ‘affordable’, some even built by local authorities - that is transforming the ‘feel’ of London today.
You’ll get a sense of this change during this afternoon journey down the River Thames, which starts in Greenwich and heads out towards Dartford Crossing and back, providing a special focus on the housing of the eastern Thames in the process. Richard Lavington, founding director of Maccreanor Lavington Architects will join our regular guide Benedict O'Looney, an architect and teacher famed for his thoughtful commentary on all aspects of London’s architecture.
Richard has been at the forefront of housing and neighbourhood design for the best part of thirty years. As well as designing the first council housing in London built for decades (for Barking Council in 2010) he has been appointed as one of the Mayor's Design Advocates. Richard’s architectural formula is the envy of his peers: the housing his studio has designed in recent years, which rekindles London’s love affair with the humble stock brick, is popular with both architects and the public.
Maccreanor Lavington revels in detail and is widely admired for the rigorous design approach it brings to it commissions whether housing, public buildings or the regeneration of town centres and former industrial zones.
Richard Lavington © Maccreanor Lavington Architects
Richard will focus on Maccreanor Lavington's projects along the eastern Thames including Barrier Park Phase 2 & 5, Great Eastern Quays, a mixed-use masterplan for a six hectare site that forms part of the Albert Basin and where the riverfront has been designed as a semi-wild landscape with expansive views along the river towards the Thames estuary.
GROUP DISCOUNT CODE: Enter GROUP at the checkout on purchases of 3 or more tickets to receive a 15% discount
Find out more about Maccreanor Lavington Architects
Departing and returning to Greenwich Pier, Cutty Sark Gardens, SE10 9HT. Duration 2.45hrs. Regretfully no children under 7. Booked for capacity of the inside covered deck in case of rain.
An Evening With...Sun Rain Rooms - Thursday 11 July 6.30/7.45pm
© Edmund Sumner
This evening event will an exclusive opportunity to tour RIBA Award Winner Sun Rain Room, a two-storey extension and restoration of a Grade-II Listed Georgian townhouse with owner/architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu of Tonkin Liu.
The extension reframes the rear of the building by amplifying the characteristics found within its fabric. Designed and constructed by Tonkin Liu in collaboration with local craftspeople, it serves as both a studio for the practice and a home for the partners’ family.
The perimeter walls of the rear courtyard support a plywood roof, curved in plan and section to allow maximum light into a patio garden. Rainwater gathered at the top of the townhouse falls through a pipe, following the roof’s curving leading edge to a spout over a long rainwater harvesting tank. The tank floods the patio at the push of a button, transforming it into a reflecting pool. The roof’s thin 110mm structural shell is an insulated stressed-skin, joined by round coffered skylights that echo the wave pattern of raindrops landing in the pool. It is a good place to be on a bad day.
The extension accommodates both prosaic and poetic aspects of domestic and studio rituals. Under the roof a garden room offers a living space for the home and a meeting space for the studio. A mirrored wall in the covered outdoor area beyond conceals a workshop, cooking area, potting shed, store, and deep planter for the small trees in the green roof above. Below the patio, the existing basement has been extended to create a bedroom, two bathrooms and an enlarged plant-filled light-well.
Each tour duration 1 hour. Limited places, cost £35.50 with complimentary prosecco and nibbles. In Clerkenwell WC1, address provided to bookers.
Find our more about Tonkin Liu here
Ticket purchases of these special one-off tours of private homes are in support of Open City's pioneering education programmes.
Join Roger Zogolovitch, founder and creative director of Solidspace, for a tour with Open House of RIBA Award Winning 'The Houseboat' in Poole Harbour.
An Afternoon With...The Houseboat, Dorset - Saturday 13 July 2pm - 4.15pm
© Rory Gardiner
“…An extraordinary design in a coastal setting…the organic form of the house, together with the staggered section and spectacular site, has created a house of originality and delight…”
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Houseboat - designed by Solidspace in collaboration with Meredith Bowles of Mole Architects and executive architect Rebecca Granger - is located on a site overlooking Poole Harbour.
It has been conceived as two upturned hulls propping themselves together facing the sea, and is built with an in-situ concrete base and a Douglas fir timber frame constructed shell. The plan is butterfly in shape. Accommodation is split between the two wings connected with steps and landings bridging the voids. The building emerges with floor plates fanning out from this concrete structure. The lower ground level accommodates the sleeping quarters which are acoustically separated from the rest of the open plan volume.
The upper ground floor provides a kitchen and dining room with terrace overlooking the sea, rising a few steps to the sitting room and concluding the eyrie at the top level. The arrangement of the split-level is designed using the Solidspace DNA, which works on half levels and leads the eye from a first to second space and finally a third.
The Eat/Live/Work sectional arrangement is maintained making a single volume under the protection of the upturned hulls, giving spatial clarity to form and the experience.
The Houseboat won the RIBA Stephen Lawrence Award 2017, a RIBA South West Award 2017 and was finalist in the World Architecture Festival Awards.
Roger Zogolovitch will be giving 2 hour in depth tour of the house and grounds to guests. Limited places. Cost £55.50, including afternoon tea.
Situated in Poole Harbour, Dorset. Tour at 2pm. Parking advised & shuttle provided from Poole train station meeting at 1.15pm for those requiring.
Roger Zogolovitch & Houseboat interior © Rory Gardiner
Ticket purchases of these special one-off tours are in support of our pioneering education programmes.
Walking Tour - Mostly PoMo - Saturday 6 July/3 August 10am
No1 Poultry © Robert Moore
When James Stirling’s final British building, No1 Poultry, was unveiled - and greeted with mixed reviews - in the mid-nineties, few would have thought the Postmodern icon would be Grade A-listed some twenty years later. Yet in recent years the controversial style has been recognised as crucial to our built heritage with 20 such examples of Postmodernism - or PoMo - in London now officially listed.
This walking tour takes in some of London’s most well-known and hard-to-find pieces of PoMo as well as key modern buildings along the way. Your guide is a heritage consultant with the renowned conservation Architecture practice, Purcell and has written widely on 20th Century and contemporary architecture.
Meet: Exchange Square - Outside Piccolino restaurant, EC2A 2BR. Cost £25.50. Tour duration 2.5-3hrs. Tour ends at Tower Bridge.
Citymaking Sessions 27 June @ Bold Tendencies
Bold Tendencies from above, including Richard Wentworth 'Agora' © Bold Tendencies; Photography: Peter Landers
Highlights include.. The oil painted CGI: a new kind of architectural visualisation
One kind of architectural drawing rules over all the others: the computer-generated publicity image. And as growing processing power brings new possibilities in creating compelling images it also brings new challenges: for example, does the hyper-realistic render so commonly in use now, fairly represent the building-to-be, and does it leave the design team enough room to shape the architectural vision during the construction process?
This session looks at the way young architects are coming up with creative alternatives to the traditional CGI.
With Oliver Cooke, director, Cooke Fawcett Architecture Main stage | 2.15pm
Village Green. Green Room – Barton Park public art proposal © Cooke Fawcett
Wednesday, 24 October 2018
Open City - Open House London and Tours
Architecture on the Thames East Boat Tour - Saturday 10 November 1pm
© Angus Hamilton
London’s future is in the east where some of the world’s most famous architects are transforming this historic industrial landscape into a place to live and work.
Join us for this afternoon journey down the River Thames starting in Greenwich and going out towards Dartford Crossing and back.
A dramatically different landscape to that of central London Thames embankments, the tour will take in landmarks including Richard Rogers’ Dome, the vast Tate and Lyle Sugar Refinery in Silvertown, the Thames Barrier and Joseph Bazalgette’s amazing Victorian Grade I listed Crossness Sewage Treatment Works.
Led by our specialist guide Benedict O'Looney. Benedict's in-depth knowledge - he is a both a practicing architect and a teacher at the prestigious Architectural Association - guarantees deep insight and thoughtful commentary.
GROUP DISCOUNT CODE: Enter GROUP at the checkout on purchases of 3 or more tickets to receive a 15% discount. Pre-order cream cheese bagels also available on the shop page.
Departing and returning to Greenwich Pier, Cutty Sark Gardens, SE10 9HT. Duration 2.45hrs. Regretfully no children under 7. Booked for capacity of the inside covered deck in case of rain.
Photography Tour - Architecture by Night- Wednesday 7 & 28 November 6pm
© Grant Smith/VIEW
Photographing the City’s iconic structures, the tour includes Lloyd’s Building and Heron Tower where lighting dramatically re-enforces their night time presence. At Tower Bridge a new illumination to mark the 2012 Olympics replaced the first significant illumination of 25 years.
This is an introductory tour led by an acclaimed architectural photographer and member of the architectural photography agency VIEW Pictures, who will be on hand to guide you and answer any questions as you discover the techniques of night photography.
The tour will cover:
- Illumination of the City’s buildings and how to photograph them
- Using long shutter speeds to render light trails
- Optimum time to take night photographs
- Selection of aperture, shutter and ISO to produce best results
- Your rights to photograph in public
- Illumination of the City’s buildings and how to photograph them
- Using long shutter speeds to render light trails
- Optimum time to take night photographs
- Selection of aperture, shutter and ISO to produce best results
- Your rights to photograph in public
Participants should be familiar with the manual functions of their camera. Cameras not provided. A TRIPOD IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS
Meet: At the post boxes, opposite Lloyd’s of London, One Lime Street EC3M 7HA. Duration 2hrs. Tour ends at Tower Pier. Cost: £35.50.
Walking Tour - Olympics and Beyond - Saturday 24 November 11am
© Angus Hamilton
The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and its Stratford environs is one of the busiest and most unusual development areas in London. The former Olympic Park, its venues and village are all now open in their post Olympic form, alongside Europe’s largest urban retail centre and the office sector, known as the International Quarter is starting to open.
This is an opportunity to explore this rapidly changing area, in the context both of its rich industrial past, and ambitious plans for the future, which include ‘East Bank', containing new facilities for the V&A, Sadler’s Wells, the BBC, London College of Fashion and University College London.
The tour takes you past all the Olympic venues, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the north and south Park, and through what is now known as East Village, with a brief incursion into the dramatically different world beyond the Park at Hackney Wick.
Your guide is Ralph Ward, who has worked on the planning and development of the area for over twenty years, most recently as Olympic planning and regeneration advisor for the Department for Communities and Local Government. He is now visiting professor at the University of East London.
Meet: at the big red 'Robert Steam Engine' Outside the main entrance of Stratford Station, opposite the bus station. Cost £25.50. Duration 2-2.5 hrs.
Friday, 24 August 2018
Open City - Open House London
Time to start planning your Open House London weekend!
image: Aga Khan Centre © Edmund Sumner
As many of you may be aware earlier this week we released this years programme for Open House London. We are extremely proud of the range of buildings this year and with over 100 new buildings participating we are certain there is something for everyone.
You can view the listings via our website here or you can buy the Open House printed guide which also includes 40 pages of articles and content from our partners this year. The guide is currently £8.50 - buy it now before the price increases to £10 in September.
The listings are also available to view on the Open House app, available to download on the App Store and Google Play for apple and android . The app allows you to view which buildings are near you and save your favourites, helping you plan your itinerary for the weekend.
AKT II Panel Discussion
Beyond micro-dwellings: can we imagine compact living and the absence of permanence?
Does a home have to be permanent or large? As London’s population continues to grow, can innovative space-saving solutions offer a pragmatic approach for those who prioritise location over space? Join AKT II for a panel discussion on why micro-living is important, and how it can be applied in London.
Event dates and time Monday 17th September, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Event Address 5th floor, AKT II, White Collar Factory, London, EC1Y 8AF 6:30-8:30pm
Tickets available here
Open House London 2018 Highlight:
Wembley Park - A Walk Through Time
Join the creative teams at Quintain and the designers working at Wembley Park on a fascinating journey, taking you through the past, present and future of this 85-acre site around Wembley Stadium, which is rapidly becoming a major new destination and neighbourhood for London. Tour highlights will include visits to Second Floor Studios & Arts, SSE Arena, Wembley, the award-winning Alto complex, Emerald Gardens at Tipi, London Designer Outlet and an interactive masterplan model of the new Wembley Park.
This September Wembley Park will be available to visit as part of Open House of both days at 10:30am, more info here!
Open House London 2018 Highlight:
Thornton Heath Library
© Paul Riddle
Thornton Heath Library was originally built in 1914 as part of the worldwide network of Andrew Carnegie funded public libraries.
The layout for these libraries were often similar, despite differences in size and architectural style. A flight of steps would rise to a raised ground floor entrance. From here further steps would lead up to the main reading room. The design reflected Carnegie’s aspirations for the role of the libraries, with the steps embodying the idea of ascendancy through knowledge while clearstory windows provided illumination without distraction.
Thornton Heath Library will have half-hourly tours on Saturday 22 September as part of Open House.
Open House London 2018 Highlight:
V22 Silvertown Studios
V22 Silvertown Studios will be a temporary neighbourhood for affordable workspace and artists' studios, exhibition and community spaces, cafe/bar and leisure areas, as well as green spaces and gardens.
During Open House, V22 Silvertown Studios will be open both days as well as hosting hourly tours of the site and they will also have an exhibition on display titled Young London 2018.
Immortalised: The People Loved, Left and Lost in our Landscape
A free exhibition at the Workshop, Lambeth, London
Friday 31 August - Sunday 16 September 2018
Friday 31 August - Sunday 16 September 2018
This immersive exhibition by Historic England explores the ways people and events have been commemorated in England, by the statues, the plaques, shrines and murals that mark heroic, quirky, inspirational and challenging lives. While some people are heralded, others are unrepresented: women, the working classes and people of colour are much less likely to have a place on the plinth.
More info here!
More info here!
Historic England are Open House 2018 partners, and throughout this year’s Guide are highlights of one of their recent campaigns, #HerStories, highlighting places that witnessed suffragette history.
Thursday, 23 August 2018
Open City - Open House Families Activites This September
Open House Families Activites This September
Open House Families is exclusively for children and their families, designed to inspire the next generation of city-shapers.
During Open House Families events families can explore and admire incredible buildings and places throughout London alongside architects, engineers, artists and stoytellers.
This September Open House Families has teamed up with The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) to deliver a weekend of exciting free family events entitled 'Lifting the Lid on Old Oak and Park Royal'. The aim of the weekend is to encourage families to explore and enjoy the areas of Old Oak and Park Royal.
Over the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd September families can take part in a variety of free events to celebrate the vibrant places, communities, industries and businesses in Old Oak and Park Royal. From exploring an old carpet factory and weaving musical tales to designing dream living spaces, families can enjoy a range of hands-on workshops over five locations celebrating a truly unique and industrious area of London. Please visit the Open House Families webpage for a full listing of free events for all of the family.
Win a private screening of The House with a Clock in its Walls
This summer Open House Families is also celebrating the release of The House with a Clock in Its Walls starring Jack Black and Oscar-winner, Cate Blanchett. A magical adventure from the people who brought you iconic classics such as E.T., Back to the Future and The BFG, The House with a Clock in Its Walls tells the spine-tingling tale of 10-year-old Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) who goes to live with his uncle in a creaky old house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart. But his new town’s sleepy façade jolts to life with a secret world of warlocks and witches when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls is released in UK cinemas on 21September! See it first 15 and 16 September.Watch the trailer now.
Head out on your own magical adventure during Open House Weekend by exploring one of our own houses with a clock in their walls – take a picture of one of the fantastic clocks in an Open House venue and share on social media with the hashtag #OpenHouseWithAClock for your chance to win a private screening of the film for you and 30 friends.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls is released in UK cinemas on 21September! See it first 15 and 16 September.Watch the trailer now.
Head out on your own magical adventure during Open House Weekend by exploring one of our own houses with a clock in their walls – take a picture of one of the fantastic clocks in an Open House venue and share on social media with the hashtag #OpenHouseWithAClock for your chance to win a private screening of the film for you and 30 friends.
Look out for further details on how to participate and a full downloadable guide to the clocks of Open House Weekend and the fascinating stories behind them, available from this webpage
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