Building Futures Together: The First Annual Summit of Open House Europe in Portugal
Next month, the Lisbon Architecture Triennale will be hosting the first Annual Summit of Open House Europe, an international cooperation project co-funded by the European Union. The summit will feature a Public Programme on December 15–16 related to this year’s theme, Building Futures Together, focusing on sustainable practices in our built environment.
Trienal – Palacio Sinel de Cordes 002©FG+SG, Fotografia de Arquitectura
The Annual Summit is a gathering of the community of Open House festivals’ organisers, architecture enthusiasts, students, and professionals. Hosted by the Lisbon Architecture Triennale in an 18th-century Palace transformed into a cultural centre, the first Open House Europe Annual Summit will feature a lively programme with three public debates, three guided tours, a workshop, an exhibition and film screenings. It aims to facilitate cross-regional exchange, bringing together perspectives and expertise from diverse fields of knowledge. It is a unique opportunity for the Open House community, including anyone who is planning to launch an Open House festival in their cities, to come together, learn, exchange knowledge, and share experiences.
Three Public Debates
As a collaborative effort by the organisers of Open House Milano, Open House Bilbao, and Open House Lisboa, the Annual Summit showcases an array of international experts. Central to this programme are three public debates, which form the cornerstone of this Summit encompassing moderated discussions and presentations, delve into the theme of sustainability in our cities, exploring it at various scales.
Open House Europe coordination meeting. Photo by Bon Alog © Courtesy of Architektūros fondas
The first panel discussion is about Governance, Architecture, and Sustainability moderated by urban sociology, housing, and cities researcher Sandra Marques Pereira. The panel will include the Director of Urban Planning and Public Space at the City of Milan’s Agency for Mobility, Environment, and Territory Demetrio Scoppeliti, Vice President of the Board of the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation Filipa Serpa, Deputy Mayor of Barcelona for Ecology, Urban Planning, and Urban Mobility Janet Sanz and Susana Ruiz, who is in charge of the urban planning for the city of Bilbao.
The second discussion will focus on Sustainability in Urban Planning, moderated by an urban planner and the founder of Urbanistica Podcast, Mustafa Sherif. The discussion will feature awarded researcher, professor, and landscape architect Aurora Carapinha, data science enthusiast with expertise in urban mobility Manuel Banza, and architect and researcher Mariana Sanchez Salvador.
Open House Lisboa 2023. Palacio do Grilo. Photo by Hugo David © Coutesy of Trienal de Arquitectura de Lisboa
The third debate on Achieving Sustainability in Architecture will be moderated by the Curator of Prizes and Programmes at the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Ivan Blasi. The panel will involve architects Marta Álvarez Pastor from Studio Vaumm, Gianandrea Barreca from Barreca & La Varra, an architecture studio that designed the first Carbon Zero social housing in Europe, and Francisco Adão da Fonseca from Oficina Pedrêz, a studio dedicated to the study of cultivated building materials and infrastructures of self-sufficiency, as well as a founder member of Architects Declare in Portugal.
These three debates will be streamed online on the Open House Europe YouTube channel. The full programme of the event will soon be made available at openhouseeurope.org.
Extended Programme
An Exhibition of Visual Stories submitted by visitors of the Open House festivals across the continent will be unveiled, showcasing stories and experiences of architecture reflecting the theme Building Futures Together.
The programme ends with a Workshop and Guided Tours. Registered participants will be able to learn the benefits and challenges of vertical urban farming systems in a workshop led by Upfarming; visit the Lisbon Drainage Master Plan, and explore the brand new University Residence of Lisbon Public University in Cidade Universitária.
Open House Dublin 2023. Cycling Tour. Photo by Ste Murray © Courtesy of the Irish Architecture Foundation
About Open House Europe
Open House Europe is a cooperation project that unfolds a multi-layered view of quality architecture across Europe and unites people of all professions, interests, and visions—from volunteers and curious enthusiasts to young and experienced professionals and organisations. The project encourages and promotes an interest in architecture among these various audiences, helps them gain new perspectives on their local surroundings, and invites them to envision the future of architecture in Europe.
The project currently joins Open House festivals in Athens, Bilbao, Brno, Dublin, Essen, Stockholm, Lisbon, Slovenia, Milan, Tallinn, Thessaloniki, and Vilnius, implemented annually by 11 cultural organisations across the continent. In 2024, Open House Europe will welcome new partners organising festivals in Prague and Vienna, as well as guest cities Copenhagen, Tirana, and Zagreb. Co-funded by the European Union, the project is a new initiative promoting quality architecture in Europe and engaging audiences in a more inclusive debate about the built environment.
Project partners
- Athens and Thessaloniki, EL – Open House Greece;
- Bilbao, ES – Asociación Open Urbanity;
- Brno, CZ – Culture and Management club;
- Dublin, IE – The Irish Architecture Foundation Limited;
- Essen, DE – Forum Kunst & Architektur;
- Stockholm, SE – Open House Stockholm;
- Lisbon, PT – Trienal de Arquitectura de Lisboa;
- Ljubljana, SI – AFRONT zavod za prostorsko inovativnost;
- Milan, IT – Associazione Open House Milano;
- Tallinn, EE – Mittetulundusühing Eesti Arhitektuurikeskus;
- Vilnius, LT – Architekturos fondas.
Open House Europe is coordinated by Architektūros fondas and co-funded by the European Union.
Exhibition: KONS-TR³ Construction of the New Era
We are announcing the KONS–TR³ Construction of a New Era exhibition, which will be on view from October 11 to December 2 in Gallery TR3 (Trg republike 3 in Ljubljana).
The opening of the exhibition will take place in the Gallery of the TR3 high-rise building on Wednesday, 11 October 2023 at 18:00. You are kindly welcome!
The exhibition about the key architectural creation of Slovenian modernism, the complex in Republic Square in Ljubljana, presents the achievements of the design team, which was under the guidance of our most prominent architect of the second half of the past century, Prof. Edvard Ravnikar in cooperation with Prof. Ervin Prelog, PhD, one of the most important experts in the field of theory and analysis of constructions. The final result overcame the limitations of its era. Embedded in the monument itself, the TR3 high-rise building, the exhibition confronts the original with the original sources: the final realization of the complex and the first ideas. A selection of early designs will be exhibited, which illustrate the challenges and thought processes on the way to the final solutions for the entire Republic Square complex and the two high-rise buildings, designed as 27-storey buildings, then the tallest buildings in the country.
OPEN CALL FOR VOLUNTEER EXCHANGE – OPEN HOUSE EUROPE
Open call for Volunteer Exchange is now open for applications!
Open House Europe is a collaborative project between 11 European cultural organisations, with a shared vision of promoting architecture as a positive force for change. As a part of the project, we hope to promote a more inclusive discussion about architecture and emphasise its role in addressing important social and environmental issues.
As project partners from Athens, Bilbao, Brno, Dublin, Essen, Lisbon, Milan, multiple cities in Slovenia, Stockholm, Tallinn, Thessaloniki, and Vilnius, we invite you to participate in International Volunteer Exchange programme!
As a volunteer, you will have an amazing opportunity to participate in an Open House festival in another European city. By joining the Open House Europe Volunteer Exchange programme, you will be able to expand your knowledge and experience of volunteering, while also making new connections with like-minded architecture and culture lovers! You will also develop a greater understanding of how architecture can have a positive impact on tackling social and environmental issues. And most importantly, you will have a chance to immerse yourself in the local culture, explore it and shortly… have much fun with the local Open House community.
Every year you will have an opportunity to choose from a few European cities. Each year they will be different. In 2023, you can choose to go to the following cities:
– Stockholm (30 Sept. – 1 Oct.)
– Tallinn (7-8 Oct.)
– Thessaloniki (25-26 Nov.)
Festival Odprte hiše Slovenije 2023, foto: Mateja Jordovič Potočnik
As a volunteer, you will have to: –
- Assist during the guided tours;
- Contribute to the publicity of the public event by posting on social media platforms, taking photos during the festival, etc.;
- If you are brave enough, you could test your public speaking skills and participate as a guide. Before the event, you will have to learn about the building, its architecture and be prepared to present it during the excursion (it will be in English, but if you are fluent in other languages, please, share it with us);
- Be the best ambassador of the Open House festival.
Every Open House festival is a little bit different from your local festival. In some cities, volunteers will be guides, in others – be photographers or be a part of a festival’s organising team. Our advice: be helpful, respectful, supportive and try to get the most out of the international volunteering experience!
You can participate in the Volunteer Exchange programme if:
- You are more than 18 years old;
- You are fluent in English;
- You have more than one year of experience of volunteering in your local Open House events;
- You are available on the specific dates of the selected Open House event.
Izmenjava v Vilni, foto: Maša Rebernik
All selected participants in the Volunteer Exchange programme will have to sign the programme agreement. After volunteering, each participant will have to fill out the survey about their experience to help us improve.
All the expenses for travelling to a preferred city and accommodation will be organised and covered by Open House Europe project partners.
Join us in the exciting Volunteer Exchange programme and let’s explore European architecture together!
Open House Europe is co-funded by the European Union.
We are accepting applications until June 30, 2023. We are available for all questions at info@odprtehiseslovenije.org.
Open House Slovenia 2023 Festival – Commitments of Architecture
Open House Slovenia festival will take place between April 14 and 16. The festival opens the door of good architecture for the fourteenth time and offers a varied selection of new, renovated and other interesting and important buildings, which visitors will be able to see for free under the expert guidance of architects, owners and users.
Building site of Galery Cukrarna, Scapelab, photo: Miran Kambič
This year’s festival takes place under the title “Commitments of architecture“. The theme aims to highlight the power and responsibility of architecture in the creation of new spatial, social and economic models. The festival thus encourages a more inclusive discussion about architecture and strengthens the role of architecture as a carrier of positive change in solving important social and environmental challenges.
Promotional pavilion Stora Enso in Planica, studio abiro, photo: Miran Kambič
The program of the three-day architectural festival was selected from among the submitted projects by jury consisting of experts in the field of architecture and space: doc. Vlatka Ljubanović, Gašper Skalar, Meta Kutin, assistant. Aleksander Vujovič, Ph.D. Martina Malešič and Andrej Strehovec. This year, more than 80 architectural projects will be included in the festival – such as private apartments and family houses, renovated monuments of architectural cultural heritage, offices and educational buildings, tourist and catering facilities. The organizers also included the most visited and awarded projects of last year’s OHS festival in the program.
Vlatka Ljubanović on the importance of OHS:
OHS is a festival of creativity. Rational thinking has been responsible for the transmission of knowledge throughout human history, while creativity and imagination are the driving forces behind the new inventions. The environmental and social crisis we find ourselves in will be solved by reason, while the creative impulse will care for the humanity and a socially inclusive society. I believe in the mission of architecture and its contribution to disaster relief, and this is why it will survive. In its own, architectural way it will ensure preservation and protection of nature and reduce disparities in a stratified society. It is important that the public feels the power of the creative in architecture, and this is what OHS is working hard to achieve.
Neighbourhood Pod Pekrsko gorco, jereb in Budja arhitekti, Arhitektura Dobrin, Kostak GIP, photo: Miran Kambič
This year the focus on sustainability will emphasize building with wood and quality renovations. Visitors will be able to see more than 15 wooden buildings. The increasing use of wood is an indicator of a growing awareness of the importance of sustainable, well designed buildings. With the right choice of wood, construction type and method, wooden constructions can fulfil the standards of modern sustainable buildings, decreasing environmental impact. Wooden buildings also have a positive influence on our well-being and offer a high degree of living comfort. Visitos will be able to see the new Kindergarden Kočevje, Kindergarden Pedenjped, Interpretation Centre Ig, Stora Enso promotional pavilion in Planica and many more.
Quality renovations and new programs in existing building stock are also an important aspect of sustainability and revitalization. In Koper, the renovated historical Sabini-Grisoni Palace will open its door. Visitors can also visit Techology park Ptuj. For the new needs, the architects renovated the building of the former officers’ pavilion of the abandoned barracks and also added a modern extension volume. In Ljubljana, historical icon Kazina Palace, which now hosts Academy of music will be open to public.
Kindergarten Kočevje, Svet vmes, photo: Matevž Paternoster, Žiga Lovšin
The year 2023 is dedicated to the architectural heritage of Edvard Ravnikar, who is considered the most important Slovenian modernist architect. Thematic guided tours and urban walks will be organised to show and explain his most important projects in Ljubljana, Nova Gorica and Kranj. They will remind us how architecture builds a country and a city. Understanding of architectural achievements of modernism, which in Slovenia is still not (adequately) understood by the general public, will be broadened with thematic tours. In Ljubljana, visitors of the festival will be able to see the modernist designs of the Republic Square (Trg republike) with the TR3 high-rise building, Cankarjev dom and the Modern Gallery.
Municipality palace Kranj, Edvard Ravnikar, photo: Miran Kambič
This year we also prepared some English tours in Ljubljana for international guests of the festival. English tours will be held at:
Renovation of apartment Meksika – Saturday, 15th April at 10.00.
Meksika 2.0 – new chapter / new era – Saturday, 15th April at 11.00.
PRISTOP Offices for a creative agency – Saturday, 15th April at 15.00.
NEU Residences – Saturday, 15th April at 17.00.
Rog Centre Creative Hub – Sunday, 16th April at 11.00.
Whole festival program and more information on: https://www.openhouseslovenia.org/festival/ or info@odprtehiseslovenije.org
OPEN HOUSE EUROPE
Since March 2023, Open House Slovenia has been a partner of the Open House Europe project, which connects 11 European cities and the country of Slovenia in a network of partners with common goals. They will advocate for the introduction of collaborative methods of knowledge exchange, the strengthening of the position of architectural and cultural organizations, the promotion of education about exceptional examples of architecture and urban environments, the involvement of the audience and better accessibility of culture. The program will introduce a range of new activities and events that will be organized across the continent. The project will include annual conferences in various European cities, a volunteer exchange program, a digital platform and many innovations at Open House festivals. The opening event took place on March 3 in Vilnius. This year’s common theme is Building Futures together.
The project is coordinated by Architektūros fondas and co-funded by the European Union.
OEN HOUSE SLOVENIA 2023 PARTNERS
OHS FESTIVAL 2023 EXPERT JURY
The jury will be tasked with selecting the buildings and space arrangements presented in this year’s 14th edition of OHS Festival, which will take place all over Slovenia between April 14th and 16th. As 2023 has been declared the year of Edvard Ravnikar, our programme will feature several projects related to modern Slovenian architecture and building renovations.
The members of this year’s expert jury are:
Assist. Prof. Vlatka Ljubanović – architect and teacher
Vlatka Ljubanović graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana in 1998. Three years later, she completed her postgraduate studies of architecture and urban culture at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in cooperation with Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona.
In 2004, Ljubanović co-founded the bureau DANS arhitekti (Rok Bogataj, Miha Dešman, Eva Fišer Berlot, Vlatka Ljubanović and Katarina Pirkmajer Dešman). Their projects received numerous awards, including a nomination for the Mies van der Rohe Award in 2017, the Golden Pencil Award of the Chamber of Architecture and Spatial Planning of Slovenia (ZAPS) in 2013, first prize at the 21st Novi Sad Salon of architecture for the church of Saint John Bosco in Maribor in 2018 and the first national award for the best wooden construction for the bicycle footbridge over the Sava river at Bohinjska Bistrica in 2013. In 2016, the footbridge received the Architizer A+ Award. The DANS bureau projects have been presented at numerous solo and group exhibitions at home and abroad, and published in Slovenian and foreign professional magazines. Ljubanović is also a researcher of the work and legacy of the Slovenian architect and thinker Dušan Grabrijan. She designs specific architectural works dedicated to special social groups.
For six years she served as member of the executive board of the Ljubljana Association of Architects. She has been a member of DESSA since 2010 and a member of its board since 2012. She has been a member of ZAPS since 2004. As a jury member, she participated in several public competitions and in other expert committees.
Vlatka Ljubanović writes articles for general and professional publications, runs workshops and summer schools in Slovenia and abroad, and has curated several exhibitions related to architecture and spatial culture. She has participated in several projects of set design, costume design and art installations.
“OHS is a festival of creativity. Rational thinking has been responsible for the transmission of knowledge throughout human history, while creativity and imagination are the driving forces behind the new inventions. The environmental and social crisis we find ourselves in will be solved by reason, while the creative impulse will care for the humanity and a socially inclusive society. I believe in the mission of architecture and its contribution to disaster relief, and this is why it will survive. In its own, architectural way it will ensure preservation and protection of nature and reduce disparities in a stratified society. It is important that the public feels the power of the creative in architecture, and this is what OHS is working hard to achieve.”
(Vlatka Ljubanović on the importance of OHS)
Gašper Skalar – architect and urban planner, president of the Ljubljana Association of Architects (DAL)
Gašper Skalar, M. Arch, works in the fields of urban planning and architecture. He works within his own architectural cooperative, which he founded with partners. Through a diverse range of projects, he pursues both the broad scale of the city and the more detailed scale of the apartment house. He is interested in the potential of architecture in the design of public space as a building block of society and, on the other hand, in its potential in solving the problem of housing as an emancipation of the individual. Since 2022 he has served as president of the Ljubljana Association of Architects. In 2023 he has become actively involved in the design of housing policy within the Ministry of Solidarity-Based Future. During his studies, he received his Faculty’s Prešeren Prize for his research work and the University Prešeren Prize for his master’s thesis. As a co-author, he received the ZAPS Golden Pencil 2021 Award for Spatial Planning.
“Over the past decades, Slovenian contemporary architecture has become recognised by both the domestic and foreign professional public. This is evidenced by numerous award-winning architectural works abroad and by participation of Slovenian architects in foreign educational institutions, exhibitions and events. However, there is still a lot of potential to bring this architecture closer to the wider public and, above all, to users. The OHS performs this task by “opening up” the space to everyone, so that the individual understands architecture through his or her own experience of the space.”
(Gašper Skalar on the importance of OHS)
Meta Kutin – architect and andragogue
Meta Kutin is a researcher and designer working at M-Kutin architectural bureau. Her design practice is committed to small scales and exploring the importance of a quality single-family home. She is interested in issues of atmosphere, ageing, accessibility and carefully chosen materials. She researches socially engaged elderly education and architecture, as well as the role of public space for social inclusion of the elderly. Kutin also leads a number of national and international projects involving older students from the Slovenian Third Age University in expansive/exploratory learning. She has written several articles and publications. She is a member of the executive board of the Ljubljana Association of Architects and a member of the Slovenian Docomom. She is the recipient of the Piranesi Student Award 2004 and the ZAPS Golden Pencil Award 2021.
“Space users of all generations need to be continually educated to understand and experience the built environment. In this respect, the OHS project has taken an indispensable place and consolidated its role as a platform contributing to the continuous education of the broadest society for an active relationship with space. Everyone benefits, users, planners, decision-makers. When we learn from each other through visits of good architectural practice, our common space is improved.”
(Meta Kutin on the importance of OHS)
Assist. Prof. Aleksander Vujović, architect and set designer
Frequent moves and changes of environment during his childhood inspired him to study space in more detail. The intersection of his interest in art and technology led him to architecture and urban planning, and later to scenography. For his master’s thesis he was awarded the faculty’s Prešeren Prize at the Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana, where he now works as an assistant professor. He is currently completing his doctoral studies and is active in the field of renovation of housing and public spaces, as well as at various levels in the field of urban planning.
His reflections on space have been published in various media, such as Outsider, Hiše, Razpotja and Večer magazines. Between 2012 and 2018 he was editor of the Trajekt portal, and in 2021 and 2022 he was a member of the editorial board of Outsider. He occasionally participates in architectural and urban planning competitions with his colleagues at home and abroad, with some of his projects winning prizes.
In 2019, he had a solo retrospective exhibition of his set designs entitled “Discovering the Black Box” at DESSA Gallery. In 2022 he received the BIGSEE Interior Design Award for the renovation of an apartment on Kotnikova Street in Ljubljana.
“For years, the Open House Slovenia Festival has been developing a simple concept: a visit and live presentation of quality spatial interventions. This has two major potential consequences: the exchange of experience between designers and, even more importantly, the education and extension of the field of possibilities of interventions to a wider range of users and future clients of spatial services. The Festival therefore has a constant impact on improving social understanding of important spatial planning issues at different scales and thinking about space in its variations.”
(Aleksander Vujović on the importance of OHS)
Martina Malešič – Ph. D. – art historian and researcher
Martina Malešič is an art historian, assistant professor and researcher at the Department of Art History, Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. Her research interests include Slovenian architecture, design and urban planning in the 20th century, with a special focus on residential culture. She is active in the organisation and implementation of projects aimed at the research and popularisation of modern architecture. She has curated a number of exhibitions, including Streets and Neighbourhoods: Vladimir Braco Mušič and Large Scale Architecture (co-curated by Luka Skansi, Bogo Zupančič, Museum of Architecture and Design, Ljubljana, 2016) and New Spaces, New Images: The 1980s through the prism of events, exhibitions, and discourses – Part 1 (co-curated by Asta Vrečko, Moderna galerija, Ljubljana, 2016). She also participated in the advisory board for the exhibition on Yugoslav architecture under socialism (Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2018). In 2021, as a member of the curatorial team, she prepared an exhibition in the Slovenian pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, entitled The Common in Community: Seventy Years of Cooperative Centres as a Social Infrastructure.
“The OHS Festival is of great importance to the professional and general public, as it opens the doors of buildings that are usually off-limits. We can feel, move through and perceive with all our senses spaces that we otherwise only see in photographs. It also allows us to meet other visitors, designers, clients, owners and contractors. In this way, the OHS Festival creates an environment in which we can talk about space, share experiences and explain ideas, where we can think about the space that surrounds us.”
(Martina Malešič on the importance of OHS)
Andrej Strehovec, architect
Andrej Strehovec, a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Ljubljana, is an architect, critic/reviewer, independent curator, international selector, theorist, inter-media designer and set designer. He has been designing architecture, mainly public buildings and residential houses, since 2004. He is the author of award-winning architectural and urban design projects as well as architectural designs. Since 2010 he has been publishing in professional magazines in the field of architecture and culture (Piranesi magazine, DaNS, Hiše, AB, Slovenika, m-Kvadrat, PRO Bauhaus, The Riba Journal…). He is internationally active in the field of architecture, design and inter-media projects and has exhibited in galleries in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, England, Israel, etc.
Between 2018 and 2022, he was a member of the executive board of the Association of Architects of Novi Sad (DaNS) and the editorial board of DaNS. He is a national selector for the Piranesi International Architecture Award and the recipient of the Golden Pencil Award 2019, awarded for excellence by the Slovenian Chamber of Architecture and Spatial Planning.
“The OHS Festival has been recognised for its specificity and instant relevance since its inception. It has fostered the highest level of professionalism, from the criteria for the inclusion of the selected buildings to the public and media presentations. At the same time, it succeeds in opening up a broad insight into Slovenian architecture to a wider public and in nurturing architectural enthusiasm and commitment to a dwelling culture. The organisation of visits to selected buildings is particularly specific and important, and is a unique phenomenon in the field of architectural and design platforms, as it offers an unforgettable experience and a genuine, professional, yet relaxed contact with top Slovenian architecture.”
(Andrej Strehovec on the importance of OHS)
foto Vlatka Ljubanović: Mateja Jordovič Potočnik
foto Gašper Skalar: personal archive
foto Meta Kutin: Janez Marolt
foto Aleksander Vujović: Blaž Jamšek
foto Martina Malešič: Jana Jocif
foto Andrej Strehovec: Tatjana Tucić
Open House Europe
The beginning of March will mark the launch of Open House Europe, a new international collaboration project. The project will embrace a more inclusive debate about architecture and strengthen the role of architecture as a positive change-maker addressing relevant social and environmental challenges. The launch event will be hosted by the project coordinator Architektūros fondas at the National Gallery of Art in Vilnius, Lithuania, on March 3.
The concept of Open House originated in 1992 in London to promote a better understanding of architecture for the public. At the heart of this idea is accessible learning through direct experience of the buildings themselves and interactions between professionals and citizens. Since 1992, almost 50 cities worldwide have adopted this unique format.
Open House Milano 2018. Photo by Luca Rotondo © Courtesy of Open House Milano
To improve and expand this format, a new collaborative project was initiated by 11 European cultural organisations that annually organise 12 Open House events in Athens, Bilbao, Brno, Dublin, Essen, Lisbon, Milan, multiple cities in Slovenia, Stockholm, Tallinn, Thessaloniki, and Vilnius. The project will seek to include Open House festivals in other European cities and further knowledge exchange by collaborating with the extended Open House Worldwide network.
The three-year project will focus each year on a new direction: sustainability, accessibility and inclusion, and future heritage. These thematic axes will allow Open House Europe to shape the agenda for a debate about contemporary and heritage architecture, its values and quality. The objectives of the project are aimed at introducing collaborative modes of knowledge sharing, strengthening the position of architecture culture organisations in the sector, promoting education about exceptional examples of architecture and urban environments, engaging audiences, and increasing cultural accessibility.
Open House Stockholm 2022. Photo by Ina Andreolli © Courtesy of Open House Stockholm
The programme of Open House Europe will introduce a range of new activities and events that will be organised across the continent. The project will include Annual Summits in different European cities, a Volunteer Exchange Programme, a digital platform, and a range of innovations in the Open House festivals. The visitors will be able to take part in open calls for visual stories that will encourage them to explore and interpret the annual Open House Europe themes through their own experiences and knowledge gained during the Open House weekends.
The launch event of Open House Europe promises to be an informative and inspiring experience for architects, cultural specialists, and the general public. It will provide insights into the aims and objectives of the project and further explain its programme. The launch event will be available online via the Open House Europe Youtube channel on March 3 at 18:00 (GMT +2).
Project partners: Open House Athens, Open House Bilbao, Open House Brno, Open House Dublin, Open House Essen, Open House Lisboa, Open House Milano, Open House Slovenia, Open House Stockholm, Open House Tallinn, Open House Thessaloniki, Open House Vilnius.
Coordinator: Architektūros fondas
The project is co-funded by the European Union.
OHS – Happy 2023!
Dear OHS friends,
happy, open, sustainable, inspiring, green, inclusive forward to 2023!
At the end of the year, we thank you for visiting and supporting our programs in the past year.
Thank you for creating a better place with us.
OHS team
13th OHS Festival: ARCHITECTURE IN A NEW REALITY
The largest festival of architecture, real estate and quality design, the Open House Slovenia (OHS), took place this year between 27 and 29 May. For the thirteenth time in a row, the festival opened the doors of good architecture and offered a diverse selection of new, renovated and other interesting buildings, which visitors could see for free under the expert guidance of architects, owners and users.
The theme of this year’s event was “ARCHITECTURE IN A NEW REALITY”. We wanted to encourage dialogue on the role and importance of architecture in times of great social and environmental change.
Guided tour of Hotel Maestoso in Lipica, foto: Enota
The times we live in are testing our civilization on very different levels. Our planet, society, economy, environment, culture and values are changing faster than people can get used to and respond to. Architecture has a significant impact on the quality of life of the individual and society as a whole. With the OHS festival, we want to emphasize its important role, which can only be realized in society with a deep understanding of its mission.
Architecture and people are connected in a common, limited space. In the light of our experience of the last few years, when we have felt an even greater lack of connection and cooperation, the idea of returning to the world before the pandemic is also being questioned. It seems that in the future we will have to plan and shape our world in a new, perhaps different way and in a broader context.
Architecture enables the solution of spatial problems and the design of spaces in new contexts. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic a new opportunity has arisen: to create an architectural and social vision of space based on inclusion, quality and sustainability. New ways of living, working and teaching, new infrastructures, new technologies, meeting energy needs, CO2 emissions and sustainability, new partnerships… All this requires reflection and the creation of new responses.
Architectural visit of Partial interior renovation of the administrative building of the Triglav insurance company, foto: Zala Koščak
As we await recovery, it would make sense to consider whether, instead of returning to life before the pandemic, we can discuss new solutions for a better and more sustainable living in the context of the new reality. Architecture and architects can help a lot. This is also pointed out by the European Commission’s “New European Bauhaus” initiative, aimed at accelerating the green transformation, which puts architecture at the forefront of the transition to a more sustainable economy and society.
Visiting offices Modra jagoda, foto: OHS
The programme of the three-day architectural festival this year opened the doors of selected apartments and family houses, educational institutions, kindergartens and schools, business buildings and modern work spaces, cultural institutions, libraries and creative spaces for artists, as well as several tourist facilities and sports buildings.
Architectural tour of Hotel Bohinj, foto: OHS
Guided tours of the buildings offer visitors a personal experience in architecture and reveal the process of planning, constructing and using buildings. They also present possible answers and principles that make buildings more environmentally and user-friendly, reveal the important connection between man and the planet, and highlight the impact of technology and responsibility for the future.
Exhibition: Experiencing Architecture
As in previous years, we organized a large architectural exhibition called »Experiencing Architecture« in a public park – park Tivoli in Ljubljana. The official opening with a guided tour took place on April 20, 2022.
The experience in space is as inevitable as the words we use to address our neighbours. The easiest way to learn from experience is to understand and extract meaning, form a memory or even create a new idea. Experience means better understanding. Personal experience in architecture can have a significant impact on our future decisions about how we live, what we build or renovate, where and at what cost.
The exhibition opened walls and presented the relationships between houses, residents and architects. 45 architectural projects by more than 65 architects and architectural offices were presented, accompanied by statements from residents, architects and managers, as well as original photographs by renowned photographers.
We designed the exhibition as a conversation between people and architecture. It allowed us to look behind the façades of buildings as critically minded architectural enthusiasts, clients, art researchers, or as curious visitors and decision makers.
The exhibition will be on display again in September 2022 on Gallusovo nabrežje in the centre of Ljubljana.
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