Open House Festival Curatorial Criteria
What are the curatorial criteria?
The curatorial criteria aim to lay out what the festival team looks for when approving open days and events. This should help you shape your plans and make sure that you and your visitors get the most out of the experience. The criteria will be the basis for any feedback the festival team shares with you during the application process.
What are we looking for?
The festival team is looking for open days and events that champion the festival’s mission of giving people access to spaces they wouldn’t otherwise be able to get into; creating opportunities for people to learn from and about buildings, infrastructure, landscapes, and from each other; celebrating great architecture and the people who live and work in it, and care for it.
How we assess applications
Scoring system
Your open day or event will be scored by the festival team against the curatorial criteria. All open days and events need to get a minimum score of 3 in order to be included in the festival programme.
If you are opening up a space that is normally closed to the public for the rest of the year, you will score 3 points and automatically be included in the programme, provided you meet the pre-scoring requirements below.
Pre-scoring requirements
To be approved for the festival you must:
Have a clear ‘Description’ and ‘About’ section that details your building or event, along with any relevant architecture and design history details, or details of the building or event’s social or cultural significance.
Upload a minimum of 2 high-quality images that you own the copyright for, not just ones you have permission to use. (In recent years we’ve had to pay substantial fines when copyright has been infringed). If you’re opening a building, a photograph of the building itself is best. Please do not upload an event poster as your image.
Ensure the activity type (drop-in or ticketed) is appropriate to the format and scale of activity you are proposing. For more information, please refer to our guidance on activities.
Ensure the building you're opening or event you're running has architectural, heritage, cultural and/or community relevance for Londoners.
Applications that do not meet these requirements will be returned for revision before scoring.
We also ask that you consider how to make your event as accessible and inclusive as possible. For further guidance, see our accessibility resources.
The best way you can champion the festival's mission is by letting people into a space or building they wouldn't otherwise be able to get into, or giving them a different experience to what they would normally have in that space or building.
Opening a building
The ways you can open up
Letting people into a building they would not otherwise be able to get into
Score 3
Letting people into part of a building they would not otherwise be able to get into
Score 3
Letting people into a space that is otherwise open only occasionally or by prior appointment or for a specific purpose (e.g. a religious service)
Score 2
Letting people into a space for free that they would normally be charged for
Score 1
Letting people into a space that is regularly accessible to the public throughout the year for free
Score 0
The Twin House. Photo: William Sousa
Taking place in the public realm rather than within a single building, walking tours are a way for people to explore new areas of the city or to gain new perspectives on already familiar neighbourhoods.
Walking tours
Run a walking tour (i.e. of the public realm) focusing on a particular theme, building typology, history etc., which champions and/or examines an area’s built environment
Score 3
Temple to Bank Tour. Photo: Anna-Rose McChesney
Visitors to your building will be keen to find out more about its design history, its social history, the cultural significance of the space, details of its current use, or anything else you think will help them to get the most out of their visit. We encourage you to think about the different ways you might engage visitors and interpret the space for them. Although the kinds of activities detailed below are not essential for everyone opening a building for the festival, they are key if you’re opening a space that is usually accessible to the public for free.
Engagement and interpretation
It must be related to the building or a particular theme that is associated with the building or space, local area or communities, or wider London.
Engagement and interpretation activities
Run a workshop or talk
Score 3
Run guided tours of the building or space
Score 3
Host an exhibition, e.g. displaying archives, photographs or art works
Score 2
Stage performances, such as live music or dance
Score 2
Have the designer or architect present to answer questions about the building
Score 1
Different forms of animation and art form that are not mentioned above. Please detail what it is in your expression of interest and application forms
Score 2 - 3
Rio Cinema. Photo: William Sousa