OPEN HOUSE PORTO 2nd Edition counts 30 645 visits in a single weekend
There were exactly 30,645 visitors who, during the weekend, went through the 51 places that were with the doors open under the second edition of Open House Porto. After the 11,000 visitors registered last year, no one dared to dream with this number which definitely places this event among the country’s main cultural brands reinforcing the importance of collaboration between the three cities of the Atlantic Front Porto, Gaia and Matosinhos and the importance of architecture in the culture of this region.
The program outlined by Jorge Figueira, commissioner of the initiative, and the deputy commissioner, Carlos Machado e Moura, gave emphasis to the excellence of the built heritage of Porto, Gaia and Matosinhos, and was a real success. From the early hours of Saturday it was possible to see long lines to visit some of the buildings that opened its doors to OPEN HOUSE.Organized by CASA DA ARQUITECTURA and TRIENAL DE ARQUITECTURA DE LISBOA, with the strategic partnership of the Municipality of Porto and the collaboration of the municipal councils of Gaia and Matosinhos, Open House Porto sought this year to stimulate the discovery of private places of recognized institutions, Combining large estates with private residences, in a journey through forgotten architectures revisiting the bourgeois house of the early twentieth century and the social housing that emerged after the revolution of 25th April 1974.
The Open House Porto 2016 made experimental visits designed to the special needs of the blind and deaf, as well as special programs for families. The huge success of these sensory visits created the will of extending them to more buildings in the next year’s edition. The event mobilized 176 volunteers and 64 specialists this year, including an activity with students of Architecture of the University of Porto, who made live draws of the Open House Porto spaces, creating an interaction with visitors.
The Open House is an international event of promotion of the architecture and the built heritage, created in London by Victoria Thornton. With more than 20 years of history, this event currently extends to more than 30 cities worldwide, aiming to raise awareness and stimulate the interest of all by the architecture of excellence through free visits to buildings of the most varied times and typologies. Portugal is the only country with two cities in the Open House family, and Open House Porto is the only event that brings together the architecture of three cities.
+ info: www.openhouseporto.com
+ info: www.openhouseporto.com
