This year’s festival will focus on the theme of comfort in architecture. In some buildings, we feel good; in others, not so much, and we can’t always put our finger on what’s missing. Comfort in architecture has been perceived differently in different time periods, and the concept has evolved. What was considered comfortable in the 19th century or in modernist architecture may be seen in a completely different light today. Old buildings need to be adapted to new needs through architectural means.

The organisers of the event, therefore, ask: how do we make these buildings ‘comfortable’, what makes architecture comfortable to be in? What does it take for a building to be comfortable for all its users, whether they are parents with a child, a person with a mobility impairment, or anyone else? What challenges do architects, designers, engineers, and designers face when trying to make spaces usable? How do we create a liveable city? These and other questions related to usability in architecture will be answered during the tours on May 13 and 14.

Lojoteka. Educational media centre. Photo by Gytautė Akstinaitė
Lojoteka. Educational media centre. Photo by Gytautė Akstinaitė.

This year, Open House Vilnius has a lot of news

“We are delighted to open up Open House Vilnius even more to the residents and visitors of Vilnius who speak other languages. This year we plan to expand the number of tours in English and for the first time we will organise tours in Ukrainian in several buildings,” says Emilija Gruzdytė, one of the project managers.

This year, Open House Vilnius joins the newly launched Open House Europe cooperation project, coordinated by Architektūros fondas and co-funded by the European Union. “Thanks to this collaborative project, we will be able to grow and develop even further, drawing on our own experience and that of our partners in various European cities. We will seek to find links and develop common themes, increase the visibility of local Open House events, and together create even more interesting content for architecture lovers from all over Europe. It’s also good news for our experienced volunteers—the project is launching a volunteer exchange programme! We are also part of the Open House Worldwide network since 2015,” says Mantas Razgaitis, one of the project managers of the Open House Vilnius event.

Composers' Union building. Photo by Vytautė Ribokaitė
Composers’ Union building. Photo by Vytautė Ribokaitė.

This year’s event will open 60 buildings, including several first-time participants. “We invite you to visit the ‘D9 – Artsy Office’ and see the interior, where the office space intertwines with the gallery and complements each other. We will also have objects of exceptional function, such as the Vilnius Choral Synagogue, the Institute of Chemistry of the Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences of Vilnius University, and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania. We have also added buildings of contemporary architecture, such as the Pilaitė Gymnasium and the Vilnius International School. These buildings will provide an insight into the challenges architects faced in creating new and comfortable concepts for a modern school. We are delighted that we will have the opportunity to invite you to take a look around the new spaces of the ISM University of Management and Economics, located in the former Vilnius Central Post Office,” says Rita Tamulevičiūtė, Open House Vilnius Project Manager.Open House Vilnius is organised by Architektūros fondas. The activities of the organisation are financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. The Project is a part of Open House Europe and co-funded by the European Union.

Creatives' Courtyard. Photo by Gytautė Akstinaitė
Creatives’ Courtyard. Photo by Gytautė Akstinaitė.

List of buildings:

Baltic Hearts – verslo centras
Betono fabriko biurai | buv. armatūros cechas
Bokšto skveras
D9 – Artsy Office
Estijos Respublikos ambasada
Grata viešbutis
Halės turgus
Igno Parčevskio namas
Internamas – Nacionalinės M. K. Čiurlionio menų mokyklos bendrabutis
ISM Vadybos ir ekonomikos universitetas | buv. Vilniaus centrinis paštas
k29 – verslo centras
Kazio Varnelio namai – muziejus
Kompozitorių sąjungos pastatas su gyvenamųjų namų kvartalu
Kultūros paveldo centras
Kūrybininkų kiemas Raugyklos g.
Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas | Vileišių rūmai
Lietuvos apeliacinis teismas
Lietuvos kooperatyvų sąjungos administracinis pastatas
Lietuvos medicinos biblioteka
Lietuvos muzikos ir teatro akademijos centriniai rūmai
Lietuvos nacionalinė filharmonija
Lietuvos nacionalinė Martyno Mažvydo biblioteka
Lietuvos nacionalinio radijo ir televizijos centrinė būstinė
Lietuvos nacionalinis dramos teatras | LNDT
Lietuvos Respublikos krašto apsaugos ministerija
Lietuvos Respublikos kultūros ministerija
Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidento rūmai
Lietuvos Respublikos Seimo rūmai
Lietuvos Respublikos užsienio reikalų ministerija
Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybės rūmai
Lietuvos Respublikos žemės ūkio ministerija
Lojoteka. Edukacinis medijų centras
Markučių dvaro muziejus
Nacionalinė dailės galerija | NDG
Paupio Pasaka
Pilaitės gimnazija
Pirklių klubas – verslo centras
Registrų centras | Žemės ūkio duomenų centras
S7 biurų kompleksas ir Telia Lietuva centrinė būstinė
SEB banko centrinė būstinė
Swedbank centrinė būstinė
Tarpukario gyvenamasis namas su V. Krėvės-Mickevičiaus ir V. Mykolaičio-Putino butais
TARTLE I Lietuvos meno pažinimo centras
Teatras Vilniaus klasika ir Tsekh meno galerija
Tech Park
Tuskulėnų rimties parko koplyčia – kolumbariumas
Valdo Ozarinsko kurtas lofto interjeras
Valstybės duomenų agentūra
Valstybinis Vilniaus mažasis teatras
Vilniaus choralinė sinagoga
Vilniaus geležinkelio stotis, traukinių remonto depai ir grįžratis
Vilniaus kultūros, pramogų ir sporto rūmai
Vilniaus santuokų rūmai
Vilniaus senasis teatras
Vilniaus šv. Juozapo kunigų seminarija
Vilniaus tarptautinė mokykla
Vilniaus termofikacinė elektrinė Nr. 2
VU Chemijos ir geomokslų fakulteto Chemijos institutas
VU Didžioji Aula
Wix biurai