The known festival of architecture OPEN HOUSE has been presented today at the Giner de los Ríos Foundation, attended Victoria Thornton, who founded the festival twenty years ago in London. It will be held in Madrid during the weekend of 26 and 27 September.
The Spanish capital will host this event for the first time directed by Paloma Gómez Marín and Pati Núñez, and thus joins other cities including Rome, Buenos Aires, New York or Barcelona, where it has been held since 2010. The event features more than 400 volunteers and the initial list of 70 buildings has increased up to 120. Expectations are for a continued growth, with a significant generation of foreign tourism around the event.
As all the organizers commented, the event is organized to present places, to let people know their city and architecture in an open and free environment. An event that has already been very successful in other cities.
The objective of OPEN HOUSE is to promote knowledge of the city and recognition of the value of urban space. Although the specialized public is the most obvious target of the festival, it also seeks to approach architecture, design and urbanism to a wider audience. In order to get it about 100 buildings will open their doors for free throughout the weekend, offering guided tours of spaces that have a restricted access during the rest of the year. They have also organized competitions, specialized routes and also exhibitions and special events organized by some of the architectural studios.
Among the different places that can be visited there are foundations, hotels, private houses, headquarters of large business groups, schools and sports facilities, besides emblematic buildings of great Spanish architects such as the Gimnasio Maravillas by Alejandro de la Sota, the Centro de Estudios Hidrográficos by Fisac or the Fundación Fernando Higueras.
The festival will be complemented with other events that will take place during September and October in Madrid, all of them in order to raise awareness of the architectural and artistic heritage of the city. For example Feria de Arte Estampa at CC Matadero; Open Studio event, which opens the door to studies of contemporary artists or MOM.Madrid Otra Mirada, an initiative organized by Madrid City Council to bring citizens the heritage of the city.
You can see all participating buildings and schedules on OPEN HOUSE MADRID web.
In the coming days with METALOCUS as the main media partner, a series of articles will be published on the wide range of possibilities of the Festival.
