From September 12th to 20th, Open House Festival 2026 returns to London for its 35th edition, unlocking buildings, studios and spaces rarely accessible to the public. Spanning all 33 London boroughs, the nine-day festival invites visitors to encounter the city through its architecture, creative communities and overlooked cultural landmarks, with most events free to attend.
A different way of seeing London
Open House approaches architecture as a way of understanding the city and the people who shape it. Across nine days, visitors can cross thresholds into places they might never otherwise see, from historic buildings and artist-run spaces to recording studios, community gardens and experimental housing.
Some events require advance booking, but much of the programme is open on a drop-in basis, leaving room for spontaneous discoveries and unplanned journeys from one neighbourhood to the next.
Where music, art and history meet
Among the highlights is Strongroom, the East London recording studio founded in 1984 and linked to artists including Nick Cave, Radiohead, The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers. Visitors can explore its working studios and distinctive interiors, including artist Jamie Reid’s visual interventions, which draw on sacred geometry, colour theory and environmentalist and anti-fascist ideas.
In Peckham, the Caribbean Heritage walking tour traces spaces occupied by the Caribbean community between 1960 and 1990, while Gentrification and African Presence in Peckham (GAPP) examines the educational, recreational and cultural sites that have shaped the area’s social and political history.
A House for Artists offers another vision of architecture as a catalyst for community. The project combines 12 rented homes for artists and their families with shared workspaces and a public programme, creating a model of communal living centred on creativity.
Studios, gardens and the art of making
Further north, OmVed Gardens connects food, ecology and creative practice through regenerative gardening, seed saving and community education, exploring practical approaches to climate resilience and biodiversity.
In Dalston, The Print House charts the evolution of a Victorian paint factory into a contemporary cultural hub, bringing together artist studios, a gallery, a World War II bunker and its distinctive Roof Park.
The London Centre for Book Arts opens its artist-run, open-access studio in a former centre of East London’s printing industry. Studio tours, demonstrations and displays offer visitors a close look at bookmaking and print, revealing the techniques behind artist books and independent publishing.
Across its many venues, Open House Festival reveals London as a city shaped by layers of history, creative practice and community. Its 35th edition offers an invitation to look closer—to cross familiar streets with fresh eyes and discover the spaces quietly defining London’s character.
