10th Open House Prague 2024

Open House Prague 2024

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2024, the Open House Prague festival took place May 13–19, 2024. On the weekend of May 18–19, it opened 115 usually inaccessible buildings across Prague to the public, including 36 new buildings in the program and 57 cultural monuments. During the week, the festival offered 140 events as part of the accompanying program, including discussions, special guided tours with architects and professionals, lectures, and exhibitions. The buildings and the accompanying events recorded over 103,000 visits, which was 20,000 more than in the previous year. The festival’s information center, where visitors could learn more about the program and buy souvenirs, was located at the Hybernská Campus, which was also one of the new buildings in the program.

New Buildings & Anniversaries

The 2024 program commemorated several important Czechoslovak architects. People could visit functionalist gems such as the former restaurant of the Štvanice Winter Stadium by Josef Fuchs (130th birth anniversary), the Trade Fair Palace by Josef Fuchs and Oldřich Tyl (140th birth anniversary), and Tyl’s Pod Slovany Garage. We also opened the Bílá Elementary School and Nursery School by Jan Gillar (120th birth anniversary). Czech functionalism was also represented by the works of Adolf Benš (140th birth anniversary), such as the former Electrical Enterprises (now Bubenská 1) and Terminal 4 at Václav Havel Airport. Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the death of Josef Fanta, we also opened the Hlávka Student Dormitory, the Art Nouveau building at the main railway station, and the seat of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Finally, the work of Karel Hubáček (100th birth anniversary) was represented e.g. by the DISK Theater. 

The program included 36 new buildings from 13 city districts. One of them was the opulent palace of the First Czech General Reinsurance Bank on Smetana Embankment in the style of floral Art Nouveau, now housing Goethe-Institut, or the Škoda Works Palace. Thanks to our collaboration with the Prague City Hall, visitors also had an exclusive opportunity to enter the majestic Old Town Market Hall on Rytířská Street. The program also included the building of the Prague Municipal Insurance Company, now the seat of the Ministry of Regional Development of the Czech Republic. The picturesque atrium and premises of the Václav Havel Library were made accessible at the classical Deym Palace. Near the busy Republic Square, visitors could enter the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research. For the first time ever, the festival also managed to get access to Na Libušince Villa. Also for the first time ever, the program featured several buildings located on the premises of Prague Castle – Presidential Residence, New Orangery, and Lobkowicz Palace. Visitors could also enter the National Archives and the State Regional Archives in Prague, located in the Chodovec district, and the historical building of the National Archives in Dejvice.

Accompanying Program

As part of the 2024 accompanying program on the weekdays, people could visit an exhibition titled My Shoes, Your Shoes at the Hybernská Campus, which explored the emotional legacy of families, watch a performance from Rainbow Gospel at the Clubhouse of the Autoclub of the Czech Republic, or experience a performance that combined poetry, music, and images at the Chapel of St. Wenceslas in the district of Suchdol. During the weekend, visitors could also participate in Open Senses, an interactive city game focused on the accessibility of the city for all people, or see an exhibition dedicated to the family of world-renowned writer Franz Kafka at Goethe-Institut. Anyone could also join the open call for Visual Stories as part of the Open House Europe project or the photo contest Otevřená Praha (“Open Prague”). During the entire festival week and weekend, there were numerous accompanying programs.

Architecture for Everyone

We have been gradually removing barriers that might prevent people from exploring the city and its architecture. Thanks to our collaboration with a number of partners and, newly, thanks to the financial support from Open House Europe and the European Union, we were able to offer a program that focused on accessibility and inclusion. Aside from the now traditional special tours for visitors with visual and hearing disabilities, we also organized a discussion on accessibility of the city, a workshop focused on physical accessibility of buildings, and an interactive city game titled Open Senses. The topic of accessibility was also reflected in the open call for Visual Stories as part of the Open House Europe project. In total, there were 12 tours for visitors with visual or hearing disabilities that were attended by over 90 people.

Program for Families with Children

On the weekend, we opened a free construction workroom in collaboration with our partner Czech RepuBRICK in the festival’s information center at Hybernská Campus. Older children used white LEGO® bricks and their imagination to build buildings of various shapes and younger children could play with DUPLO bricks. The workroom was visited by approximately 200 children with their parents over the weekend.

Some buildings also featured tours for children with our Worksheets for Little Architects, which helped children learn about the history and architecture of the buildings in an interactive way. In total, there were 9 guided tours that were attended by approximately 370 children.

Involvement of Volunteers

Over 620 volunteers joined the 10th Open House Prague festival, which was a record-breaking number. The volunteer program welcomed Lejla Abbasová – presenter, activist, and former spokeswoman of the human rights and ethnic minorities minister – as its new ambassador. The volunteer teams once again included high school and university students, middle-aged people of various professions, elders, and even entire families. Our thanks go to all those who participate in the work with volunteers and help them grow and who provide us with various forms of support and training. Most importantly, we thank the hundreds of volunteers, employees from the buildings, and passers-by who were not afraid to join us and help wherever it was needed. The selfless commitment of such a large number of people is very touching and above all a driving force for the entire Open House Prague festival. As a thank you, we invite our volunteers to visit selected buildings throughout the year as part of our volunteer program.

OHP is Part of an International Network

Open House Prague is a proud member of Open House Worldwide, an international network of more than 60 cities on 6 continents where the Open House festivals are held. The concept of the festival originated in London in 1992 under the leadership of founder Victoria Thornton, who holds the Order of the British Empire. In 2020 and 2022, the network held collaborative online events that introduced unique architecture concepts from the member cities, including Open House Prague. Selected European cities have also come together as part of the Open House Europe project with the participation of Open House Prague as well.