Open-City (formerly Open House)
44-46 Scrutton Street
London
Greater London
EC2A 4HH
England
Website
General
Education Team
Telephone
General number
020 3006 7008
Education Team
020 7383 5722
Fax
020 7377 6972
Good design has a massive impact on the quality of our lives. Open-City is a unique, independent organisation committed to raising the standard for London’s architecture and built environment by opening people’s eyes and minds to good design – through debate, dialogue, learning and direct experience of excellent spaces and places.
With a basis of experience, expertise and research built up over a decade and a half, Open-City encourages Londoners to explore and re-examine their city, to debate how architecture affects their daily lives, and to discover and appreciate how they can really influence change in the built environment.
Our programmes are shaped by our three main target audiences:
Engaging the general public – opening doors for all Londoners to experience and learn about the architecture of the capital’s most interesting and significant landmarks.
Learning for young Londoners – providing architectural education for students in London’s schools; involving London’s young people in the design of spaces and places.
Advocating good design amongst decision-makers – working with local authority officers and councillors, regeneration professionals and developers to advocate for good design throughout the city. This includes policy and decision making related to art in public spaces.
Venue Type:
Architecture centre
Additional info
Open-City's Education Team offer free annual programmes for primary and secondary school students to investigate inspiring architecture, teacher training sessions, family activities, holiday workshops and more. Contact Ros Croker, Education Projects Coordinator for further details - rcroker@open-city.org.uk.
Open-City Architecture Tours: Photography - From Wren to Rogers
Explore the architecture of the City of London from Wren to Rogers with this photographic walking tour looking at how to effectively photograph the City, a hugely impressive mix of history and modernity, where new vistas are continually opening of this ever-changing cityscape. On this tour, led by Anthony Coleman acclaimed architectural photographer you will discover different ways of observing and photographing the City. This is an introductory tour with a your guide, a member of the architectural photography agency View Pictures on hand to guide you and answer any questions. The tour will cover optimum time of day to photograph the City’s buildings. By the end of this tour you should be able to identify differing architectural styles in the City and different approaches to architectural photography.
Participants should be familiar with the manual functions of their camera. You MUST bring your own camera.
Walking tour departing from City of London Information Centre, St Paul's Churchyard
EC4M 8BX. Duration 3 hours approx
Suitable for
- 18+
When
10am-1pm
Where
City of London Information Centre, St Paul's Churchyard, London EC4M 8BX
Admission
£35.50 p/p
Website
http://www.open-city.org.uk/activities/yearround/photographywrentorogers.html
Open-City Architecture - Kings Cross Renaissance
A special walking tour of the King's Cross area, Europe’s largest city centre regeneration scheme. A combination of 20 historic and 30 new buildings set in new streets, squares and parks the development is a 25 year project creating a new place and piece of city in an area once neglected. The guide is Maggie Baddeley is a senior associate director at NLP, a town planning, economics and design consultancy based at King's Cross.
Meet: German Gymnasium - King's Cross Central Visitor Centre
26 Pancras Road N1C 4TB at 10am. Cost £24.50
Suitable for
- 18+
When
10am-1pm
Admission
£24.50 p/p
Website
Open-City Architecture. An Evening with...Artists House
The house is part of a rare of 1950’s modernist terrace in Kensington. The archtiects and clients agreed the starting point to make it more Bauhausian than it was originally, stripping away all new details, painting the walls bright white and the metal window frames matt black.
The organization of the house is re-orientated, creating a double height space, a curved office, a timber lined writer’s study and all arranged around a dramatic new free standing staircase that rises like a giant saw-toothed sculpture. The mixture of spaces provides intimacy, privacy, conviviality and contemplation.
The rear façade is modified with a new curved glass study added and a new ground level kitchen focused onto the spectacular new garden of Palm trees and rolling box designed by Todd Longstaffe-Gowan.
The kitchen is the main theatre for entertaining. It has a large brasserie type mirror over the cooking area which reflects the amazing garden.
Artists' House was a RIBA London Award Winner 2010.
Introducation at the start of each tour by Victoria Thornton, Founding Director of the annual Open House event and Open-City.
With complimentary prosecco
Each tour duration 1 hour.
Suitable for
- 18+
When
6-7pm
Admission
Cost £35.50 with complimentary prosecco
Ticket purchases for our 'An Evening With...' series are in support of the work of our organisation including our pioneering education programmes.
Website
http://open-city.org.uk/activities/yearround/hiddenhouse.html
Open-City Architecture. An Evening with...Artists House
The house is part of a rare of 1950’s modernist terrace in Kensington. The archtiects and clients agreed the starting point to make it more Bauhausian than it was originally, stripping away all new details, painting the walls bright white and the metal window frames matt black.
The organization of the house is re-orientated, creating a double height space, a curved office, a timber lined writer’s study and all arranged around a dramatic new free standing staircase that rises like a giant saw-toothed sculpture. The mixture of spaces provides intimacy, privacy, conviviality and contemplation.
The rear façade is modified with a new curved glass study added and a new ground level kitchen focused onto the spectacular new garden of Palm trees and rolling box designed by Todd Longstaffe-Gowan.
The kitchen is the main theatre for entertaining. It has a large brasserie type mirror over the cooking area which reflects the amazing garden.
Artists' House was a RIBA London Award Winner 2010.
Introducation at the start of each tour by Victoria Thornton, Founding Director of the annual Open House event and Open-City.
With complimentary prosecco
Each tour duration 1 hour.
Suitable for
- 18+
When
7:30-8:30pm
Admission
Cost £35.50 with complimentary prosecco
Ticket purchases for our 'An Evening With...' series are in support of the work of our organisation including our pioneering education programmes.
Website
http://open-city.org.uk/activities/yearround/hiddenhouse.html
Open-City Architecture on your bike. Adventures in Metroland
For those who do not venture outside of Zone 2, the lands around and beyond the North Circular are terra incognita, known only from travellers' tales and trips to IKEA. But they contain their wonders: relics of a rural Middlesex past, subtopian fantasies of the inter-war years, and the strange fruits of contemporary interventions and reinterpretations. This tour will take us from old Hampstead, London's early suburb par excellence, into the heart of Metroland, disclosing along the way a host of buildings rare, marvellous and plain odd.
Meet: Outside Hampstead Heath Overground Station, South End Road, NW3 2QD
Duration: 3 hours approx. Tour ends in Barnet.
You MUST bring your own bike and For competent cyclists
Sunday 30 June 10.30am book here
Suitable for
- 18+
When
10:30am-1pm
Admission
£24.50 p/p
