The established architectural event Open House Athens returns on the weekend of April 4–5, 2026, opening the doors of more than 70 buildings to the public and inviting residents and visitors of Athens to a unique experience of exploring the city’s architecture. As every year, a series of parallel events will begin one week earlier, expanding the scope and public engagement of the program.
PRODEA Investments is the Main Sponsor of Open House Athens 2026, consistently supporting the institution and actively contributing to the promotion of the city’s architectural identity.
Open House Athens is one of the most important architectural institutions in Greece, aiming to promote architecture and foster a deeper understanding of the built environment. During the event, public and private spaces—historic and contemporary buildings, residences, offices, hotels, and cultural venues—open their doors, offering free guided tours conducted by the 600 volunteers of Open House Athens. Endeavor Greece supports this year’s event as the Volunteers Sponsor, empowering a new generation that activates the city, enhances the visitor experience, and contributes to contemporary cultural dialogue.
Athens bears the marks of all its historical periods: from antiquity and neoclassicism to postwar apartment buildings and contemporary architectural production. It is a city of contrasts—dense and often chaotic, yet dynamic and evolving—where architecture reflects the country’s history, its social and economic conditions, and current explorations toward sustainable and human-centered urban design. In recent years, major projects and urban redevelopments, new mixed-use buildings, office spaces, and cultural infrastructures have been transforming the urban landscape, creating new opportunities as well as new challenges for the city and its residents.
The event is held under the auspices and with the funding of the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports, under the auspices of the Municipality of Athens, with the kind support of the Greek National Tourism Organization, and with the support of OPANDA, the Athens Concert Hall, and STASY S.A..
This year’s theme, “Emerging City,” focuses on what is surfacing and redefining the urban landscape: the new generation of architects, recently completed buildings, innovative adaptive reuse projects, and contemporary urban creativity shaping the city of today and tomorrow. It is an open invitation for the public to discover the ever-evolving architectural identity of modern metropolises—cities in constant transformation that renew themselves, experiment, and redefine their functions and form.
Athens is transforming: it is being rebuilt, evolving, and experimenting. New spaces for work, culture, living, and entrepreneurship are emerging across the urban fabric, often bearing the signature of young creators who bring a fresh and dynamic approach to design and spatial use. Through this year’s theme, Open House Athens 2026 highlights this renewal, allowing visitors to experience firsthand the buildings and projects that express the city’s new spirit.
In this context, the National Bank of Greece is the sponsor of this year’s thematic focus. A long-standing supporter of innovation, entrepreneurship, culture, and contemporary forms of development, its presence is closely linked to the narrative of new urban creativity.
As part of the “Emerging City” theme, the following are planned:
Emerging City Category:
Selected buildings in the program will be highlighted as part of this year’s theme, showcasing projects that express the city’s contemporary transformation, such as adaptive reuse developments and recently completed architectural works. These examples highlight the new architectural momentum and contemporary approaches shaping the urban landscape.
OPEN PHOTO Competition:
The public is invited to capture this year’s theme through their own perspective, with the best entries winning unique prizes.
OPEN OFFICE Tours:
This initiative aims to highlight the architectural profession by bringing the public into contact with architectural studios in Athens and the creative process through visits to their workspaces. Within the framework of “Emerging City,” emerging practices distinguished by their dynamic and contemporary design approach will participate, contributing to the transformation and renewal of the city’s urban landscape.
MADE in Athens | 28–29.03
This parallel action, established in recent years as part of Open House Athens and sponsored by attica Department Stores, aims to bring the public closer to production processes and the techniques—both contemporary and traditional—used in the creation of objects. Visitors have the opportunity to explore the spaces and experience the different stages of production through free guided tours led by the creators themselves, with no reservation required.
This year, for the first time, Open House Athens, in collaboration with attica City Link, will offer visitors a comprehensive experience within the department store on Sunday, March 29, from 11:00 to 16:30.
attica City Link is housed in the historic complex of the Army Share Fund, in the center of Athens—an emblematic building of 20th-century Athenian architecture and part of the Stoa Spyromiliou arcade. As part of the guided tours, visitors will discover the building’s architecture and its transformation into a department store, explore window display design, and gain insight into the creative process of two distinguished Greek brands, Ancient Greek Sandals and Mantility.
OPEN WALK | 28–29.03
This parallel action of Open House Athens invites the public on a journey of discovery through the city, via curated routes that highlight lesser-known yet particularly fascinating aspects of Athens—both architecturally and historically. This year’s routes include:
Kypseli through Fokionos Negri Street
Fokionos Negri Street is a characteristic example of urban development organized around a green core. The area features interwar and postwar apartment buildings of the Modern Movement, reflecting the social and political transformations of their time. The route focuses on the neighborhood’s distinct architectural identity and the relationship between built and unbuilt space, highlighting the evolution of Athens’ urban landscape.
IFI Lighting Night Walk – “Light in the Urban Fabric”
For the second consecutive year, Open House Athens, in collaboration with IFI Lighting, invites participants on a night walk through the historic center, exploring the role of lighting in shaping the contemporary urban experience. Light does not simply reveal architecture—it transforms urban space, emphasizing details and creating new narratives. Participants are invited to become “Luminauts” and experience the connection between architectural heritage and innovation, in a route where past and future meet through IFI’s motto, Illuminating Senses.
More information: https://www.openhouseathens.gr/event/open-walks/
OPEN SCHOOL | 03.04
The educational program of Open House Athens includes organized visits to selected buildings from the main program on Friday, April 3. This parallel action is addressed to school groups, educational institutions, and other organized groups.
More information: https://www.openhouseathens.gr/event/open-school/
OPEN OFFICE | 02–03.04
The Open House Athens 2026 program, sponsored by ANAKEM S.A., introduces emerging architectural practices based in Athens that have already distinguished themselves professionally. As part of the initiative, architects open their offices to the public, guide visitors through their workspaces, and share insights on contemporary urban issues as well as their design approaches.
The program focuses on the new generation of architects, recently completed projects, innovative reuse of existing buildings, and the contemporary urban creativity shaping the city of today and tomorrow. Through visits to architectural studios, participants gain first-hand insight into the ideas, methods, and approaches that contribute to the evolving architectural scene of Athens.
The participating architectural offices are the following:
- ARCHZONE
- A&M ARCHITECTS
- STUDIO THANASIS
- EN ROUTE-ΚΟΥΡΚΟΥΛΑΣ
- ERION WORKSHOP
- THOMOPOULOS ARCHITECTS
- LOWFAT ARCHITECTS
OPEN TOURS | 04–05.04
As part of this year’s theme, “Emerging City,” Open House Athens 2026 opens the doors to 80 architecturally significant buildings, inviting the public to discover the dynamic evolution of Athens through the spaces that shape its contemporary identity.
This year’s program brings together a wide range of spaces—public and private buildings, residences, offices, museums, and hotels—reflecting how the city is transforming and redefining its urban landscape. Special emphasis is placed on the “Innovation Cluster” by Endeavor Greece, the international organization that promotes entrepreneurship and innovation by supporting high-impact companies and connecting them with global markets. The cluster highlights spaces where innovation, technology, and new entrepreneurship develop, shedding light on another dimension of the emerging city: the contemporary production of ideas, collaboration, and creativity.
Through this collaboration, Athens is also showcased as a modern hub of innovation and entrepreneurship, where architecture, work, and technology collectively shape the urban future.
Through the visits, participants have the opportunity to explore diverse architectural approaches shaping the city of today and tomorrow—from the adaptive reuse of existing structures to new constructions that incorporate principles of sustainability and innovation.
A significant number of participating projects reflect the “Emerging City” theme, focusing on works that bridge the past and the future of architecture and highlight the continuous transformation of Athens. These buildings are specially marked in the program, making them easy for visitors to identify.
A series of parallel competitions will also complement the program:
OPEN PHOTO | 04–12.04
The Open House Athens photography competition, held on Instagram and sponsored by DIMAND, invites the public to share their own perspective on the city and the event experience. Open to everyone—amateur and professional photographers alike, as well as architecture enthusiasts—the competition’s theme this year is “Emerging City,” encouraging participants to capture the city’s dynamic evolution and the many facets of contemporary urban life.
Participation is completed by posting photos from this year’s event on Instagram (via a public profile), using the hashtag #dimand_oha2026.
The two winning entries will be awarded two cameras, kindly offered by Fujifilm Hellas.
More information: https://www.openhouseathens.gr/event/open-photo/
OPEN VOTE | 04–12.04
OPEN VOTE gives visitors of Open House Athens the opportunity to select and vote for their favorite tour from this year’s program. Through this process, the public helps highlight the most outstanding experience of the event, while also rewarding the volunteers who conducted the tours. The team behind the building or route that receives the most votes will receive a distinction and commemorative gifts.
Participants in the voting process will also be entered into a draw to win a camera, courtesy of Fujifilm Hellas.
Voting opens on April 4:
https://www.openhouseathens.gr/event/open-vote/
OPEN YOUR MAP | 04–12.04
The OPEN your map initiative, sponsored by KLEEMANN, invites visitors to take part in a creative competition centered around the event’s printed map. Participants can collect stamps at each building they visit, gradually creating their own personal souvenir of the Open House Athens experience.
After completing their visits, participants are invited to upload a photo of their stamped map on Instagram (via a public profile), tagging Open House Athens.
The most distinctive map will win a camera, courtesy of Fujifilm Hellas.
More information: https://www.openhouseathens.gr/event/open-your-map/
OPEN YOUR PORTFOLIO | until 30.04
The portfolio competition is organized in collaboration with Vakalo Art & Design College, which for the 12th consecutive year actively supports Open House Athens. The school offers a full scholarship for the Master’s program in Architectural Design, validated by the University of Derby, leading to an MA in Architectural Design.
The scholarship, offered as part of the Open House Athens 2026 parallel events, αφορά το academic year 2026–27, covers the full tuition fee (€8,250), and will be awarded to the winner of the Open Your Portfolio competition, based on the theme “overall portfolio.”
More information: https://www.openhouseathens.gr/event/open-your-portfolio/
The program concludes with the established TIME to Close Party on Sunday, April 5, after 22:00, at Romantso (Anaxagora 3–5).
On the decks will be DJ Dimitris Lilis, in a night marking the completion of this year’s program and offering an opportunity for all participants to come together and celebrate the end of an inspiring architectural experience. Volunteers, architects, building owners, sponsors, visitors, and friends are all invited to join and close this year’s Open House Athens together.
The visual identity of “Open House Athens & Thessaloniki 2026” was created through a competition co-organized with Vakalo Art & Design College. The winner of this year’s competition is Marios Alexandros Poulimenos.
Programs:
Open Walks: https://www.openhouseathens.gr/buildings/open-walks-2026/
Made in Athens: https://www.openhouseathens.gr/buildings/made-in-athens-2026/
Open Tours: https://www.openhouseathens.gr/buildings/open-office-2026/
