Journal •
Open House Europe (2022–2026)
This year marks the culmination of the three-year Open House Europe project, a significant milestone in a journey that has brought together cities, communities and ideas under a shared vision of architecture as a tool for connection and change. Guided by annual themes, most recently Future Heritage, the project has explored how the built environment can respond to and is shaped by some of today’s most pressing challenges, engaging public audiences and widening participation in conversations about our shared spaces. This work continues to energise and deepen the international collaboration at the heart of Open House cities across Europe, carrying its impact forward and building on its momentum into the future.
Over the past three years, the Irish Architecture Foundation has been at the heart of Open House Europe, a collaboration connecting 27 cities through a shared exploration of architecture’s role in shaping everyday life. This growing network has come together at annual summits in Lisbon, Dublin, where we were proud to host, and most recently Athens. Each gathering offered space to exchange ideas, challenge perspectives and reimagine what architecture can do for people across Europe.
For us, this has been more than participation — it has been transformative. Hosting the Dublin summit strengthened our role as both a local and international connector, opening up new collaborations and expanding how we approach public engagement and access to the city. These exchanges have directly shaped our work, from how we programme Open House Dublin to how we position Irish architecture within wider European conversations around care, climate and the future of our cities.
Through volunteer exchanges, our community has stepped into other cities, sharing Dublin’s perspective while learning from diverse urban contexts in return. Initiatives like the Visual Stories competition have further deepened public engagement, inviting people to see and share their city in new ways.
Ultimately, this project has reinforced something central to our mission: that architecture is not just about buildings, but about connection between people and place and about making the city more open, accessible, and participatory for all. Looking ahead, it drives our ambition to deepen these international collaborations, bringing new ideas home while sharing Ireland’s voice in shaping a more inclusive and responsive future for cities across Europe.
Open House Europe was coordinated by Architekūros fondas, supported by the Lithuanian Culture Institute and co-funded by the European Union through Creative Europe.
Photo credit:
Tour of Dubin Castle State Apartments as part of the Open House Europe Summit hosted by the Irish Architecture Foundation in Dublin, January 2025. Photo by Ste Murray.
