Open House Festival Announces 2024 Guest Curators
Open House Festival 2024 returns to the capital this autumn, from 14 - 22 September, featuring hundreds of free open days and tours across all 33 London boroughs and the chance to uncover and explore London’s remarkable buildings and landscapes.
As part of the festival, each guest curator will select ten buildings, spaces and events spotlighting a distinct theme within the city of their choosing, in a bid to introduce the 2024 festival to new audiences, and to bring fresh perspectives to the programme.
Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator, commented:
“It’s a pleasure to work with such an incredible line-up of curators, each bringing their own unique perspective and expertise to the programme. The initiative is a brilliant way to help visitors to discover and engage with new insights and experiences of the city and its built environment during the festival.”
CHRIS LAING
Chris Laing is an Architectural Designer, Activist, and Consultant, known for his advocacy work within the Deaf community. As the founder of Signstrokes and Deaf Architecture Front (DAF), launched in June 2023, he pioneers initiatives bridging the gap between the Deaf community and the architectural industry.
Chris is passionate about fostering greater inclusivity and understanding in spatial design, advocating for the integration of Deaf perspectives. With a background in Architecture from Kingston University and Interior Architecture and Design from UCA, he completed his MArch at the Royal College of Art. His ongoing work with DAF focuses on producing resources to facilitate dialogue and understanding within the architectural community.
His collection:
In a world where community and belonging are vital, my curated collection for the 2024 Open House Festival celebrates spaces that nurture togetherness, connection, and empowerment. Emphasising community hubs as more than structures, they catalyse connection and growth. Each chosen example within this collection embodies not only strong community values but also showcases beautiful design, elevating the very essence of communal spaces. Through this collection, my desire is to spark meaningful conversations around the transformative potential of community spaces, particularly for those often marginalised, championing inclusivity in architectural design.
Acknowledging the indispensable role of funding in bringing these spaces to life, I underscore the vital necessity of continued support in this sector. Additionally, I draw attention to the notable absence of dedicated, multi-functional, and beautifully designed deaf community hubs. These spaces are crucial additions to the fabric of inclusivity I believe we need to foster as a society.
RIYA PATEL
Riya Patel is a London-based writer and curator specialised in architecture and design. She was formerly the senior editor at Icon magazine, and as a freelancer her words have appeared in FRAME, Crafts, Design Anthology, Wallpaper* and Disegno. Until 2019 she was curator at The Aram Gallery, an independent platform for new and experimental design. She started her career at The Architectural Review and Architects’ Journal and holds a Masters degree in architecture.
Her collection:
My selection is all about spaces of making and manufacturing in this incredible city. Through my time writing about architecture, design and most recently craft, these often-hidden spaces have been revealing themselves to me – pockets of activity that thrive on industrial estates, down alleyways, in railway arches. Carmel King and Mark Brearley’s book Made in London (2022) is a good primer for this extraordinary ‘other life’ of the capital that tourists, shoppers and even architecture-lovers don’t see. It’s easy to get romantic about this topic, but the reality is many places are struggling to survive in an expensive city and against a prevailing culture of buying imported products. I hope my collection inspires more people to find out what’s made on their doorstep.
SPACE BLACK
Architectural Designer & Visual Artist Rayan Elnayal alongside Civil Engineer and DJ Heba Tabidi’s response to resist the structures and institutions that govern the built environment profession in the UK is Space Black. The studio explores underrepresented and under resourced ideas in the built environment. Together they imagine alternative spatial futures for marginalised communities, by combining their Sudanese identity, diasporic experience and technical training.
Their collection:
The collection delves into the network of Afro-Arab third places nestled within London's urban landscape. These curated spaces span a diverse range of architectures, each uniquely adopted and adapted to foster communal gathering and cultural exchange. The curation seeks to unveil the interconnectedness of communities, often closely knit in proximity yet rich in cultural diversity. These architectures, encompassing cultural institutions, culinary spots, and places of worship, serve as vital sanctuaries for immigrants navigating the bustling metropolis and significantly contributed to London's diverse social and urban fabric.
OLIVER WAINWRIGHT
Oliver Wainwright is the architecture and design critic of the Guardian. He trained as an architect at the University of Cambridge and the Royal College of Art, and worked at OMA, muf, and the Mayor of London’s Architecture and Urbanism Unit. He has served as curatorial advisor to the Architecture Foundation and is a regular visiting critic and lecturer at a number of architecture schools. His photography has been exhibited around the world and his first book, Inside North Korea, was published by Taschen in 2018.
His collection:
What would London look like if housing was no longer a commodity, but simply a place to live? How would it feel if streets were used not to park cars, but for children to play, and to grow flowers and vegetables together? What could life be like if we pooled our resources, shared our amenities, and knew our neighbours? The projects I’ve selected present an alternative vision for how we might live together, ranging from co-housing and community land trusts, to sociable housing for older people, to neighbours who decided to get together and built their homes themselves.
For any press requests, please contact Ellie Mackenzie and Jade Verbick at Caro
Communications: Email: openhouse@carocommunications.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7713 9388
