OPEN25

From Cameroon, Japan, and Chile to Denmark and Greenland, over a thousand participants joined a sold-out OPEN Architecture Festival on Friday, September 19. Together, we explored and questioned the role and complexity of the ordinary — what it implies, and what it could imply.

In an unpredictable world — where attention has shifted from climate, diversity, and inclusion to armament and conflict — OPEN25 created a space for dialogue. Alongside prominent voices from architecture, academia, and politics, the festival considered how our discipline, industry, and institutions might understand and respond to these challenges. We reflected on climate discussions, the responsibilities of architecture, and the impact of material choices and demolition. We explored how citizen engagement and initiatives like HouseEurope! can drive change, and we debated whether new movements emerge through research and collaboration — or through resistance. Above all, we spoke about the importance of collaboration, understanding, and solidarity, acknowledging that not all countries start from the same place.

Exhibitions, Performances, and the Front Yard
Participants also experienced a rich program of exhibitions, performances, film screenings, and artistic interventions: Unordinary Everyday, Hotel Bedsted Kro, Scraps, Trash, Treasures II, String Figures, Rap Akademiet, selected graduation projects, and the release of this year’s OPEN Publication. Between sessions, After d’Aarch provided music, drinks, and local street food.

OPEN26
We hope to see you at next year’s OPEN, themed Mies Didn’t Come Home That Night. In a time of global tension and ongoing struggles over the planet’s resources, the festival will ask: How can new models of life emerge? Can society organise itself differently, seize opportunities in the void left by the old world, and use utopian thinking as an architectural tool? Save the date — 18 September 2026!