Open House New York, a citywide celebration of architecture and urban design, will celebrate its 15th anniversary on October 14 and 15 this year.
A partnership of more than 400 arts and cultural organizations, city agencies, architecture firms, and others, OHNY Weekend will open more than 200 buildings and projects across the five boroughs, from historic to contemporary, for tours and talks with architects, urban planners, historians, preservationists, and city leaders.
With more than 85,000 visitors and 1,400 registered volunteers each year, Open House New York Weekend is one of the largest architecture festivals in the country.
“The anniversary of Open House New York Weekend comes at an especially significant moment in New York and the nation. Planning for the first OHNY Weekend began in the fall of 2001, a time when New York had closed itself off in response to September 11,ˮ said Gregory Wessner, executive director of OHNY.
“Fifteen years later, amidst a national conversation about the values of access and openness, we are reminded once again that the mission of Open House New York is as meaningful and urgent as it has ever been. OHNY Weekend remains a vibrant reminder that access and openness — to the city and each other — are fundamental to a healthy civic life and an empowered citizenry.”
The 15th anniversary Open House New York Weekend features a range of new sites and returning favorites, as well as a number of special series curated by Open House New York and its partners.
New additions to this year’s weekend include The Bridge at Cornell Tech, a contemporary research and development incubator designed by Weiss/Manfredi and one the first three buildings to be completed at the university’s new Roosevelt Island Campus;
Historic Liggett Hall on Governors Island, a former military barrack designed to house an entire army infantry, which will have its secret archway gymnasium open to the public for the first time;
Waterside Plaza, the 1,470-apartment complex built along the East River inspired by the stark geometric work of Louis Kahn, where visitors will be able to visit an apartment and view historic construction photos;
Residences at PS 186 and Boys & Girls Club of Harlem, an adaptive reuse project by Dattner Architects that transforms an abandoned public school into a vibrant new Boys & Girls Club and affordable housing;
Rare access to the New York Transit Museum Archives, which holds thousands of artifacts and archival material that tell the story of mass transportation in New York City;
Cultural Services of the French Embassy, a division of the French Embassy in the United States that fosters French-American cultural exchange around the arts, located in a Gilded Age mansion with interiors by Jacques Garcia, one of France’s most celebrated modern architects;
The new global headquarters of west elm in Empire Stores, the recently restored 19th-century coffee warehouses along the East River waterfront in DUMBO;
And the American Copper Buildings, designed by SHoP Architects, where visitors will be among the first to tour the building’s iconic and newly completed skybridge.
The full list of participating sites will be revealed to the public on Wednesday, October 4 on www.ohny.org.
The 2017 OHNY Weekend will kick off with a special 15th anniversary Launch Party on Thursday, October 12 at Jane’s Carousel, in Brooklyn Bridge Park, the 48-horse carousel, housed in an exquisite jewel box by Pritzker Prize-winner Jean Nouvel.
This is a ticketed fundraiser, with proceeds supporting OHNY Weekend. Tickets will go on sale in September.
For more information about Open House New York Weekend, visit www.ohny.org.
