Open House Santiago (OH! SANTIAGO) proposes to be an event of sharing and spreading the word about the built environment that invites citizens and visitors to explore and discover the value of their urban context from a range of perspectives (engineering, architecture, environment, construction). Conceived as an event to always be free for everyone and designed for all audiences, the format is an opening of a series of unique spaces to be visited by the public during a weekend one a year. The second version will take place on 8th-9th September, 2018.

The Open House (OH) concept originated in London, where Open City has since 1992 developed an event similar in its key objectives and approach to Santiago. Progressively, other cities in the world have taken on the franchise and made their own versions of the event, thus forming an international network that currently brings together 35 cities. Among the main positive impacts attributed to these events are those of Victoria Thornton, Director of Open House Worldwide (OHWW):

"Experiencing architecture in person helps everyone to have greater knowledge, to get involved, to create a dialogue and to make informed judgments about the buildings, places and neighbourhoods where we live, work or play"

For these reasons, OH! STGO is the first version of this event to take place in Chile, which in 2017 opened a total of more than 70 buildings and spaces in the capital that possess architectural, urban, social, technical, and / or cultural values ​​that allow the recognition and reflection on good urban practices in the contemporary city, by its citizens. These openings addressed a wide audience, inviting young people, adults, locals, tourists, politicians, and many more to enjoy spaces that are not usually available to be visited.

As part of the curation of the spaces chosen to be a part of the first OH! Santiago weekend, the following categories were used to help identify the best of the contemporary city:

- Public Architecture (educational, health, cultural, etc.)

- Engineering and Infrastructure

- Residences (Social housing, mixed tenure and private)

- Institutions (universities, companies, offices, etc.)

- Citizen Intervention Initiatives

- Public Spaces, Art, Leisure and Mobility

- Contemporary Interventions in Heritage or Historic spaces.

Using these overall points, OH! Santiago seeks to establish itself as an inclusive and participatory platform, capable of accounting for the plurality of the territories and inhabitants of the capital. In addition, it is an opportunity for collaborative learning among professionals, institutions and citizens, allowing them to develop tools to develop their points of view on the city and recognize the best architecture and engineering as factors of cultural development.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /