For four days, the way of looking at buildings in Madrid is transformed. Beyond the everyday scenario, architecture and the artists who shape the city are put in value. This is Open House Madrid, the international festival of architecture and design that takes place from September 25 to 28.
Its program includes more than 100 free activities and makes it possible to visit buildings such as the Gran Logia de España or the Reggio College that, during the rest of the year, remain closed to the general public. In addition, different artists will give workshops, lectures, show their own studios and lead open-air routes through different neighborhoods of the capital.
“Madrid se sale” is this year’s slogan, with which Open House Madrid wants to highlight the great vivacity of the city: it is a destination that attracts talent and investment and is constantly reinventing itself with new projects.
Putting Madrid in the spotlight
“The festival offers great visibility to cities and their architecture and highlights the most interesting projects,” explains Paloma Gómez Marín, the director of Open House Madrid, on the event’s own website.
Since 2015, Madrid has been joining this international initiative to publicize its most emblematic buildings and their architects. The spaces that Open House Madrid opens are very diverse: contemporary designers’ studios, institutional buildings such as the National Library or the Royal Tapestry Factory, hotels, high-design offices and even private palaces.
In addition, the different routes of the program will emphasize different aspects of Madrid. For example, the Openfilm Lavapiés Route generates a dialogue between buildings, cinema and television fiction, while the Green City and Sustainable Architecture route is focused on Madrid’s vertical and more enveloping gardens.
Access to the visits
Open House Madrid ensures that visitors are accompanied in all activities through its guides and volunteers. Visits to buildings and studios last from 30 to 45 minutes, but the tours are longer, from 1.5 to 2 hours.
It is important to consult the program to find out which activities require prior registration. Although the reservation is free, there is a handling fee of 3 euros per place, of which you will be informed during the process.
Which buildings you can visit
The complete list can be found on their website, but here you can find a small selection of the buildings that will open their doors:
- The Grand Lodge of Spain.
- The Reggio School.
- The Palazuelo House.
- The Palace of Liria.
- The mansion of Joaquín de la Torre y Angulo, current Embassy of Sweden.
- Bermejillo Palace, headquarters of the Ombudsman.
- Hippodrome of the Zarzuela.
- Pérez-Llorca Castelar Building.
- Circle of Fine Arts.
- White Towers.
- Center of Hydrographic Studies of the CEDEX.