Introducing…
The Ultimate London Pubs Tour: Guest voices on a global phenomena

Join Open House and guest voices for a special live Zoom event exploring the London pub and its global counterparts

This special introductory event is a prelude to a series of highly anticipated socially distanced walking tours, where a tour Fitzrovia and Bloomsbury will be kicking off the series. We will uncover London’s many pub styles – from grand to humble, chain to independent – reveal how similar concepts exist around the world, and investigate how Covid-19 is forcing a reappraisal of these important public spaces everywhere.

A series of guest voices to bring these spaces alive and highlight the extraordinary details – architectural, social and economic – which make pubs so important and worth protecting.

Speakers at this introductory event will include pub enthusiast Rob Fiehn, David Knight co-founder of the London-based practice DK-CM; and Madeleine Kessler and Manijeh Verghese, co-founders of Unscene Architecture and curators of the British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

These guest voices will each tell the story of how outstanding architecture, community spirit, and the careful operation of privatised public space have resulted in a unique experience which can be enjoyed the world over.

Providing a safe and fun way for enthusiastic urbanists to explore the city in our post-pandemic era, this pubs series is part of a new broader series of events responding to the core themes of the Open House festival. It will celebrate the enigmatic qualities of London’s pubs and discuss their wider cultural and global relevance at a time when many such venues are sadly under threat.  

Event: Wednesday 18 November at 6pm
Duration: 1 hr approx.
Zoom passcode joining info will be sent out to all Open House Friends and Pub Tour bookers before the tour. Please get in touch with Adrianna at tours@open-city.org.uk with any queries.

If you are not already an Open House friend and would like to support our work, you can become a friend here for as little as £1.25 a week. Open House has been hit hard by Covid-19, to help protect the future of Open House you can help by donating £5, £10 or £25 a month and help us ensure the future of London is open for all.

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Meet the tour guides…

Rob Fiehn
Rob Fiehn is well-established within the architectural community, publishing books, organising events and helping practices communicate both internally and with the outside world, from large globe-trotting offices to small bespoke studios. He is also the chairman of the board for the Museum of Architecture and advises the Blackhorse Workshop, DKUK and the London Society.

David Knight
David Knight is a designer and author, and founding co-director of DK-CM, an architecture and research studio based in London. David has exhibited, lectured, taught and published internationally, including twice at the Venice Architecture Biennale, and his PhD work at the Royal College of Art represented the UK at the Hong Kong & Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism & Architecture. David has taught in London architecture schools since 2005, as a lecturer and unit master at Kingston University School of Architecture and Landscape and at the University of East London (2005-11). He has taught ADS2 at the RCA since 2012.

Prior to forming DK-CM, David worked on a variety of research projects including SUB-PLAN: A Guide to Permitted Development (2009, with Finn Williams and Europa, at The Architectural Association), The Rule of Regulations (2008, with Finn Williams, exhibited at The Architecture Foundation and the Berlage Institute, Rotterdam), and prior to that David was project co-ordinator at General Public Agency (2005-8). He is appointed to the Greater London Authority Specialist Assistance Team, serves as a trustee at The Architecture Foundation and is a member of the Architectural Humanities Research Association. His practice DK-CM received a Special Mention in the 2016 European Prize for Urban Public Space and is part of the GLA Architecture and Urban Design Framework.

Madeleine Kessler
Madeleine Kessler is a founding Director of Unscene Architecture and co-curator of the 2020 British Pavilion at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale. Trained as an architect and structural engineer, she is an Associate Architect at Haptic Architects and was named one of RIBAJ’s 2019 Rising Stars. She sits on the National Infrastructure Commission’s Design Group and Young Professionals Panel. Previously she worked at Haworth Tompkins, HHF Architekten and Studio Weave, on cultural and public realm projects including Battersea Arts Centre, St James’s Market Pavilion and Theatre Royal Drury Lane. She has taught and lectured at universities including the Architectural Association, Oxford Brookes University, the University of Sheffield and the University of London.

Manijeh Verghese
Manijeh Verghese is a founding Director at Unscene Architecture and co-curator of the 2020 British Pavilion at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale. She is the Head of Public Programmes at the Architectural Association where she organises lectures, exhibitions, open seminars and other special projects for a diverse range of audiences. Manijeh is a Unit Master of AA Diploma 12 and seminar leader for the AA Professional Practice for Fifth Year course. Over the past eight years, she has led postgraduate and undergraduate design studios at both the AA and Oxford Brookes University and has taught workshops and courses across universities in the UK and abroad. She has worked for architecture practices including John Pawson and Foster + Partners, and has contributed to design publications such as Disegno and Icon, as well as think-tanks, books and peer reviewed journals.

In April 2019, Unscene Architecture were commissioned by the British Council to curate the British Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition at la Biennale di Venezia, which will now be held from 22 May – 21 November 2021. The Garden of Privatised Delights addresses privatised public space, asking how architects can work with the public to improve use, access and ownership of Britain’s public spaces.