The global online festival will explore architecture from around the world this weekend in a 48-hour non-stop live broadcast. The festival will reflect on major challenges facing architecture and urbanism today and focus on housing, infrastructure and mobility, climate in crisis, urban social life, public spaces, and heritage and design. Photo: The Church of the Blessed Maria Restituta in Lesna, Brno. Credit: KB / BD.
Brno, Nov 13 (BD) – A worldwide festival of architecture will take place online this weekend from over 40 global cities. The 48 hour festival will begin an hour after midnight on Saturday November 14th.
Brno will feature alongside such cities as New York, Vienna and Oslo. Brno was the first of all the member cities to host a festival online this year.
Founded in London in 1992 by Victoria Thornton, the Open House concept has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, with 43 member cities on six continents forming the Open House Worldwide network, established in 2010.
“Open House opens up cities around the world, from Santiago to Taipei. This year, the whole Open House community has risen to the challenges of this year by organizing an online festival from all the participating cities, guaranteeing a completely unique spectacle,” said Phineas Harper, director of Open City, which manages the Open House Worldwide network.
Volunteers have prepared dozens of online interviews and reports from their cities for the Open House festivals, and excerpts from these will feature in this weekend’s festival. The festival will open with an introduction from the Open House Worldwide coordinator George Kafka, followed by a digital meeting of representatives from the member cities.
“Fans of the festival are invited to watch the Sunday morning session – from 7am there will be an online journey through Spiritual spaces around the world. Open House Brno will present three diverse spiritual places from London, Melbourne and the Church of Blessed Maria Restituta in Brno,” said Lucie Pešl Šilerová, creative director of the festival from the Culture & Management Association.
Brno will also present:
- The new extension of the Vejrostova primary, designed by Boris Hála
- A collection of loft housing, studios, open-plan offices and roof gardens designed by architects from DADA District
- The CEITEC building from the engineers at A PLUS
- A tour of the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel
Earlier this year, the Open House Brno Festival was hosted on virtual platforms with recordings and live guided tours of the architectural wonders of the city. The festival first went online in April and visitors were invited for the online experience again in October.
“As architecture, music and gastronomy are part of the main image that Brno has been presenting at home and abroad for a long time, we are happy to support this event, the largest architectural event of its kind in the world,” said Jana Janulíková, director of TIC BRNO, which is co-organizing Open House Brno with the Culture & Management Association.
Visitors can see these presentations along with the contributions from all participating global cities on the organisation’s website and youtube channel.
