The Architect’s View

Britain’s biggest – and most admired – architect, Foster + Partners, welcomes the world to its Battersea riverside home once again this year 

For the past 22 years, we have opened our London studios to visitors for the annual Open House Weekend, giving them a glimpse into the creative process behind some of the projects at the practice. Last year, we welcomed over 4,000 visitors, offering them an opportunity to see the way we work, with interactive displays that provides insight into the work of our specialist teams, alongside an exhibition focusing on upcoming projects. 

This year’s special event coincides with the publication of the Foster + Partners Portfolio, a complete and extraordinary account of the first 50 years of the practice. For the first time ever, Portfolio features photography of every project completed in the practice’s first five decades, as well as drawings of its most important unrealised designs. With over 480 carefully selected images – many previously unpublished – the book highlights the enormous contribution the practice has made to a range of design disciplines. 

Visitors to Foster + Partners’ Riverside studio who register at the door will get a chance to win a free copy of Portfolio, which will also be available to buy from the practice bookshop throughout the Open House Weekend. 

See the fold-out at back of the guide for a one-day itinerary of Foster + Partners buildings to visit. 

All Foster+Partners buildings in Open House this year 

• Foster + Partners (studio) in Wandsworth 

• City Hall in Southwark 

• One Bishops Square in Tower Hamlets 

• Capital City Academy in Brent 

• Bloomberg European Headquarters in City of London 

• Crossrail Place Roof Garden in Tower Hamlets 

• HM Treasury in Westminster 

Find out more about Foster + Partners here