From Royal Docks to High Streets: 10 Open House Events You Can’t Miss
Londoners, brace yourselves: Open House Festival 2025 - running 13 - 21 September - is back with over 800 free open days and events across all 33 boroughs. From high streets to housing estates, riverfronts to regeneration hubs, the Festival celebrates the buildings, places, and people that make up London’s unique character.
Organised by Open City, the Festival is designed to connect Londoners with the spaces that shape their daily lives, offering opportunities to explore hidden histories, meet the people behind the city’s design, and imagine its future. By opening doors that are usually closed, Open House invites everyone to experience the capital through fresh eyes, sparking conversations about how we live, work, and come together in this ever-changing city.
This year’s programme is packed with opportunities to explore how communities, designers, and developers are reimagining the city, not just through blueprints but through lived experience. Whether walking the streets of an Olympic legacy site, stepping inside a net-zero retrofit, or hearing the layered histories of a neighbourhood in transition, these events put placemaking, regeneration, and community engagement front and centre.
For developers wanting to embed brand meaning, planners turning places into pride, or architects seeking narrative-rich places, we’re looking at 10 live case studies you don’t want to miss.
1. Making Spaces for Memories in Seven Sisters Market
SEVEN SISTERS MARKET, N15 5JT
Saturday 13-14 September: 10:00 - 13:00
Workshop
Making Spaces for Memories at Seven Sisters Market will explore how architecture and design can hold space for collective memory, identity, and belonging. The event will bring together the voices of traders, residents, and designers to reflect on the market’s cultural significance and the role it plays in the everyday lives of the community. Through shared stories and experiences, it will highlight how seemingly ordinary places can carry extraordinary meaning, reminding us that markets are more than just spaces of commerce, they are anchors of memory and social connection.
Making Spaces for Memories in Seven Sisters Market (Photo Courtesy of Open House)
2. Temple to Bank Tour with Jack Chesher
TWO TEMPLE PLACE, WC2R 3BD
Saturday 13 September: 17:00 - 19:30
Walking Tour by Living London History
The Temple to Bank Tour with Jack Chesher will take participants on a walk through one of London’s most historic and culturally layered routes. Moving from the Inns of Court through to the heart of the financial district, the tour will uncover stories of architecture, law, commerce, and community that have shaped the city over centuries. Jack will guide visitors to notice the details hidden in plain sight, showing how the built environment tells the evolving story of London.
Temple to Bank Tour with Jack Chesher (Photo Courtesy of Open House)
3. Southwark Heritage Centre and Walworth Library
145 WALWORTH ROAD, SE17 1RW
Saturday 13th September: 15:00 - 16:30
Drop In Activities by AOC Architecture Ltd
The Southwark Heritage Centre and Walworth Library will open its doors to showcase how a civic building can serve as both a place of learning and a keeper of local memory. Designed as a flexible community hub, the space brings together a modern library with exhibitions that celebrate Southwark’s diverse history. Visitors will be able to explore how architecture, collections, and public programmes combine to create a welcoming resource that connects past, present, and future for the local community.
Southwark Heritage Centre and Walworth Library (Photo Courtesy of Open House)
4. London Borough of Hounslow 60th Anniversary Exhibition
7 BATH ROAD, HOUNSLOW, TW3 3EB
Monday 15 - Sunday 21 September: 09:30 - 20:00
Drop In Activities by Sheppard Robson Architects
The London Borough of Hounslow 60th Anniversary Exhibition will look back on six decades of change across the borough. The exhibition will trace how Hounslow has evolved since its formation in 1965, highlighting stories of its people, places, and communities. Visitors will be able to see how planning, architecture, and local culture have shaped the borough’s identity, while also reflecting on what the next sixty years might hold.
London Borough of Hounslow 60th Anniversary Exhibition (Photo Courtesy of Open House)
5. Walworth Town Hall
WALWORTH TOWN HALL, 155 WALWORTH ROAD, SE17 1RS
Monday 15 September: 18:30 - 20:30
Talk and Guided Tour by Feix & Merlin
Walworth Town Hall will welcome visitors to explore the revival of this historic civic building. Once damaged by fire, the Town Hall is now undergoing transformation into a renewed public space, blending its heritage character with contemporary design. The event will give insight into how restoration projects can honour the past while reimagining buildings for modern community use, highlighting the role of architecture in keeping local history alive.
Walworth Town Hall (Photo Courtesy of Open House)
6. Stratford: Past, Present and Future Walking Tour
MARYLAND STATION, LEYTONSTONE ROAD (OUTSIDE FRONT ENTRANCE)
Wednesday 17 September: 16:30 - 18:10
Walking Tour
Stratford: Past, Present and Future will guide visitors through the area’s transformation, from its industrial heritage to its role as a hub of regeneration. The event will explore how Stratford has evolved over time, reflecting on its architectural and social history while looking ahead to future development. Visitors will gain a sense of how the district’s changing landscape tells the wider story of London’s growth and renewal.
Stratford: Past, Present and Future Walking Tour (Photo Courtesy of Open House)
7. Appleby Blue
APPLEBY BLUE ALMSHOUSE, 94-116 SOUTHWARK PARK RD, SE16 3RD
Friday 19 September: 10:00 - 13:00
Guided Tour by Witherford Watson Mann Architects
Appleby Blue, shortlisted for the 2025 Stirling Prize, will showcase a new model for later-life living in the heart of Bermondsey. Designed to combine independent homes with shared spaces, the scheme encourages connection, wellbeing, and community among older residents. Visitors will be able to see how thoughtful design can respond to the challenges of an ageing population, while also enriching the wider neighbourhood through public facilities and events.
Appleby Blue (Photo Courtesy of Open House)
8. Bartholomew Fayre: Community Arts Workshops
SMITHFIELD ROTUNDA GARDEN, WEST SMITHFIELD, EC1A 9DY
Friday 19 September: 16:00 - 20:00, Saturday 20 September 11:00 - 19:00
Drop In Activities by Museum of London
Bartholomew Fayre: Community Arts Workshops will celebrate creativity and collaboration in the heart of the city. Through hands-on activities and collective making, the workshops invite participants to explore local history and identity while contributing to a shared artistic expression. The event will showcase how community arts can foster connection, pride, and new perspectives on place.
Bartholomew Fayre: Community Arts Workshops (Photo Courtesy of Open House)
9. The Factory and Royal Docks Originals
THAMESIDE INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, 33 FACTORY RD, LONDON E16 2HB, E16 2HB
Saturday 20 September: 13:00 - 15:45
Guided Tour by The Royal Docks
The Factory and Royal Docks Originals will spotlight the creative energy shaping East London’s docklands. The event will open up The Factory, a cultural hub supporting artists, makers, and local enterprises, alongside the Royal Docks Originals programme, which celebrates the area’s distinctive identity. Visitors will gain insight into how heritage industrial spaces are being reimagined as platforms for creativity, collaboration, and community life.
The Factory and Royal Docks Originals (Photo Courtesy of Open House)
10. Brentford’s Great West Road Centenary Walking Tour
THE MARKET PLACE, CORNER OF 194 HIGH STREET
Sunday 21 September: 14:30 - 16:00
Walking Tour by Hounslow Heritage
The Brentford’s Great West Road Centenary Walking Tour will trace the history of one of West London’s most iconic routes. Marking 100 years since its opening, the tour will explore the road’s role in shaping industry, commerce, and architecture along the so-called “Golden Mile.” Visitors will learn how landmark factories, modernist buildings, and new developments tell the story of Brentford’s past, present, and future.
Brentford’s Great West Road Centenary Walking Tour (Photo Courtesy of Open House)
Why these events matter
London is more than a city - it’s a mosaic of lived experiences, layered histories, and evolving identities.
Open House Festival isn’t just about seeing buildings, it’s about meeting the communities, designers, and decision-makers shaping the places we live, work, and play.
Each of these open doors offers more than a peek inside. They’re invitations to understand the forces shaping our streets, the conversations between heritage and innovation, and the ways people reclaim, reuse, and reimagine space. it’s a live playbook on how to build places that matter.
At Concept Culture, we help you tell those stories - through strategy, design, and content creation that connects people to place.
Let’s shape London’s narratives - together.
Full programme and booking details: programme.openhouse.org.uk
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Concept Culture is the creative agency helping developers, councils, and urban designers lead with place marketing, place branding, and place storytelling that drives investment and builds pride.
From strategy to content creation, we turn places into destinations.
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