48h Open House returns with open doors to over 200 buildings on October 26 and 27

The 48h Open House Barcelona event returns with 205 buildings across Catalonia opening their doors during the weekend of October 26 and 27.

The event will take place in six cities: Barcelona, Badalona, Sant Joan Despí, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Vilassar de Dalt, and Sitges, featuring 212 activities over the weekend, with 30% of them being completely new.

Two major novelties for this year’s edition are the return of Open Petits (for children) and Open Kitchen. The former focuses on activities for kids, including workshops and games at various locations, while Open Kitchen explores the architecture of kitchens.

For the first time in years, visitors will not need to register to visit the buildings. Organizers will provide a live heat map on their website with real-time information about queues at each building.

This year’s edition features 205 buildings, including 12 residential homes and 80 new sites opening their doors for the first time in this event.

The 2024 theme, "How do you want to live?", invites attendees to reflect on their living spaces and daily lives through an architectural lens.

“We want people to ask themselves how they want to live and what is important to them in a space. It’s necessary to highlight the value of architecture and make it tangible in order to understand and advocate for architecture that suits everyone,” said Elisenda Bonet, director of the festival, in a statement.

80-never-seen before sites

Among the usual buildings, this year’s edition features about 80 new sites participating in the 48h Open House Barcelona event. Some are located in Barcelona, while others are in nearby cities such as L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Badalona.

In Barcelona, Ciutadella Park's large fountain will be open to the public, even though it remains turned off due to the ongoing drought. Construction of the fountain began in 1875 and was completed in 1888 when the last sculpture was added. Originally intended as a water tank inside a mountain, it evolved into the large cascade with stairs that many are familiar with today.

Another building making its debut at this event is the Palau Güell, one of Antoni Gaudí’s lesser-known works in Barcelona. It reopened in 2011 after several restorations and was built between 1886 and 1890. Palau Güell is key to understanding Gaudí's architectural development.

Other buildings in Barcelona include the Catalan Parliament in Ciutadella Park, Mercè's Old Convent—now home to Spain's military district headquarters at Passeig Colom—and the newly refurbished Diagonal Vertical office building. MOB Makers of Barcelona coworking space, the Jaume Fuster Library, the Fòrum Auditorium, and the Vall d'Hebron Firefighters Brigade Training Tower will also be open to visitors.

Additionally, FC Barcelona’s current home, the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, will welcome visitors interested in learning about the history of the 1992 Olympic Games.

Outside Barcelona, highlights include the Blanxart Chocolate Factory in Sant Joan Despí and the Ernest Lluch School in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. Other notable sites are the BDN LAB coworking space in Badalona and sculptor Pere Jou’s workshop in Sitges.