London Open House 2025

I used to do a regular London Open House round up on my old Tumblr every September: going through the guide and picking out places worth visiting.

Back then, all the listings were published in a handy pocket sized book that I'd cover in Post-it notes. I’ve let the tradition slip these past few years as I found their website increasingly difficult to navigate. COVID also played its part, as well as the year I opened my own flat (I couldn't think about anybody else's home, I was too focused on tidying up…) That weekend ended up rather sourly when someone decided to pocket a few of my books. Oddly, only the ones I’d written, which I suppose makes it some kind of backhanded compliment. If you happen to be that person and you’re reading this, perhaps it’s time to return them?

In any case, that’s really not in the spirit of London Open House. Everybody else who came was lovely, and I found it hugely rewarding to show people around my home — a building they might have walked past countless times without knowing what it was like inside. And that’s what I think is so special about Open House: it gives you the rare chance to see interiors you’d otherwise never access, and to experience architecture from the inside out, as most architects intend.

If you’re like me, you probably haven’t booked any tickets — they vanish so quickly I don’t even try anymore. So I’ve selected the ones where you can just drop in, no booking needed. Some are familiar, others are new to me, but here are my picks for this year’s Open House.

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Saturday 13 September 11 Elstree Hill, Bromley BR1 4JE Walter Segal, 1976

This is one of the first Lewisham self-build houses, designed by Walter Segal in 1976. Segal developed a timber-frame construction method that avoided conventional techniques, allowing people with little or no building experience to build their own homes.

Among the original self-builders was Ken Atkins, who became a leading advocate for the movement as chair of the Lewisham Self-Build Housing Association. He campaigned for planning permission and funding, and later promoted self-build across the country, including at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales. Number 11 was built as part of the same scheme, its simple structure later adapted and extended. Archive material on the project will be on display.

And if you want even more Segal, see Walters Way on Sunday 21 September (below).

Nearest stations: Shortlands, Ravensbourne

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Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 September Isokon, Lawn Road NW3 2XD Wells Coates, 1934

Commissioned by Jack and Molly Pritchard, Wells Coates’ Lawn Road Flats — now known as the Isokon Building — was Britain’s first International Style apartment block. Completed in 1934, it pioneered the use of reinforced concrete for housing and introduced the concept of compact “minimum flats” with shared services.

The building quickly became home to an avant-garde community, including émigré Bauhaus masters Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer and László Moholy-Nagy, as well as writers such as Agatha Christie. The Isobar, its club and dining room, became a gathering place for many leading figures of the period. Today the building is Grade I listed and houses the Isokon Gallery on the ground floor. During Open House, both the gallery and several flats are open to visitors, including the penthouse once occupied by the Pritchards. This is always one of the most popular events of the weekend, so expect long queues.

Nearest underground station: Belsize Park

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Sunday 14 September Pullman Court, Streatham Hill SW2 4SZ Frederick Gibberd, 1936

Designed when he was just 23, Frederick Gibberd’s Pullman Court is one of the earliest and most significant examples of the Modern Movement in British housing. Grade II* listed, the development comprises 218 flats across a series of blocks, carefully oriented for light and views, with balconies on the southern sides and landscaped grounds retaining many existing trees.

Originally aimed at young professionals, the flats were compact and modern, with labour-saving features such as central heating, constant hot water and fitted furnishings. Gibberd even designed a range of furniture to suit the interiors. At its height the development also boasted roof gardens, a swimming pool, restaurant and social club. Today, visitors can explore the grounds and open flats, alongside displays of period articles and photography.

Nearest station: Streatham Hill

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Sunday 14 September 27 Bayer House, Golden Lane Estate EC1Y 0RN Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, 1952

Golden Lane Estate, designed in the 1950s by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, was one of the first post-war housing schemes to combine modernist design with social housing. Now Grade II listed, it is recognised for its innovative planning, spatial generosity and attention to communal life.

This maisonette in Bayer House has recently been sensitively renovated by Studio naama, restoring missing features such as a dividing wall and serving hatch, while adding playful new touches of colour and light. The result keeps faith with the estate’s original spirit while reimagining it for contemporary living.

Nearest underground station: Barbican

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Sunday 14 September Fitzroy Park Allotments, Highgate N6 6HU Several architects, 1920

Obviously not a building, but if you’ve done my Perambulation Nº1 you’ll have walked past these allotments — and this is a rare chance to get to see beyond the gate.

First established in the early 1920s and expanded after the Second World War, Fitzroy Park is Camden’s largest allotment site, covering around three and a half acres on the slopes of Highgate Hill beside Hampstead Heath. With 97 plots, it has been in continuous use for over a century, producing fruit and vegetables alongside an abundance of wildlife. Demand for plots has always been intense, with waiting lists stretching decades, which makes Open House a unique opportunity to explore this normally private green enclave.

Nearest underground station: Highgate

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Saturday 20 September Royal College of Physicians 11 St Andrew’s Place, Regent’s Park NW1 4LE Sir Denys Lasdun, 1964

Completed in 1964, Denys Lasdun’s Royal College of Physicians is one of only a handful of post-war buildings to be granted Grade I listing. The design exemplifies his approach to monumentality and clarity, combining ceremonial spaces, library and lecture theatres within a rigorous modernist framework on the edge of Regent’s Park.

Visitors can join tours, view the archives and heritage library, and experience the interiors, including the celebrated Lasdun Hall.

Nearest underground stations: Regent’s Park, Great Portland Street, Baker Street

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Saturday 20 September Lillington Gardens Estate Vauxhall Bridge Road SW1V 2LF Darbourne and Darke, 1961–71

Designed by Darbourne and Darke and built in three phases between 1961 and 1971, Lillington Gardens was a landmark in the development of high-density public housing. Rejecting the tower block model, the estate used medium-rise buildings with private gardens and generous communal spaces, integrating successfully with the surrounding Victorian streets.

Praised by Nikolaus Pevsner as “the most interesting recent housing in inner London”. the scheme won multiple awards and set new standards for social housing design in the capital. Tours are led by residents themselves, giving an insider’s view of both the architecture and day-to-day life of the estate. They run throughout the day on a first come, first served basis.

Nearest underground stations: Pimlico, Vauxhall, Victoria

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Sunday 21 September 1 Halsbury Close, Stanmore HA7 3DY Rudolf Frankel, 1938

Built by émigré architect Rudolf Frankel for his sister and family in 1938–39, this Grade II-listed house is one of the most elegant and least altered pre-war Modernist homes in Britain. The plan brings the main rooms out towards the garden, while a striking cutaway verandah with its single supporting column defines the exterior. Inside, much of the original detail survives — from flooring and light fittings to maid call buttons and service bells — offering a rare glimpse into domestic life of the period.

Frankel, originally from Poland, trained and built in Berlin before persecution forced him first to Bucharest and later to London. He eventually emigrated to the United States, becoming Chair of Architecture at Miami University, Ohio. Halsbury Close is a rare early work in Britain, built in brick rather than concrete, which proved prescient for post-war housing design. Its preservation owes much to the family who owned it from the early 1940s until 2019 (Donations collected for Shelter — bring cash.)

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Sunday 21 September Span Estates, Blackheath SE3 Eric Lyons and Span Developments

A chance to visit six of the celebrated Span estates in Blackheath — from The Priory of 1954 through to Parkend in 1967 — giving the chance to meet residents and explore the houses, communal gardens and landscape that defined Span’s approach.

Founded in 1957 with Eric Lyons as lead architect, Span sought to provide modern speculative housing for middle-income residents. In Blackheath alone, they created 21 schemes, blending imaginative house types with carefully planned communal landscapes.

Nearest station: Blackheath

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Sunday 21 September Walter Segal Self-build Houses Walters Way, Honor Oak Park SE23 3LH Walter Segal, 1987

Walters Way is a close of thirteen houses built in the 1980s as part of a Lewisham Council self-build scheme. Each house is unique, designed by its builder within a shared structural framework.

Over time the houses have been extended and adapted, with some residents adding sustainable features such as solar heating and improved insulation. A handful of the original self-builders still live here, maintaining the spirit of the project. Drop in during the afternoon to explore the street and visit houses open to the public.

Nearest station: Honor Oak Park

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