18:30

Open House Europe Visual Stories Exhibition opening

Every year, Open House Europe invites participants to share visual stories that reflect on our built environment. The 2025 theme, Future Heritage, encouraged festival visitors to explore how today’s architecture will be valued in the future. Through photography, film, drawing, and other visual media, contributors are invited to document their perspectives during the Open House festivals across Europe. The selected works will be showcased in an exhibition at the summit.

19:00

Presentation series: Embracing Future Heritage

A welcome from the Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, and a series of presentations, reflecting and expanding on the theme Future Heritage, from leading Greek architects and designers, including PILA studio, Eleftheria Deko, and K-Studio.

10:00

Presentations and a panel discussion: Heritage as a Building Material

This panel explores how architectural history and heritage are not only referenced but actively used as design materials—structurally, symbolically, and socially—in contemporary practice. The discussion will examine the potential for historical narratives and materials to enable site-specific architecture, while critically examining the fine line between thoughtful reuse and the abuse of historicism.

Participants:

Rok Žnidaršič – architect, assistant professor and co-founder of Medprostor;
Maruša Zorec – architect, founder of Arrea Architecture;
Dionisis Sotovikis – architect, member of the board of directors of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture;
Nikoletta Zakynthinou Xanthi, Architect Engineer, owner of XZA-architects, and Associate Faculty at Columbia University.

Moderator:

Stavros Martinos – Architecture and Design Editor, ek magazine.

12:15

Panel discussion: Shaping Future Tendencies and Values in Architecture

This panel will explore the fundamental forces and values influencing the future of architecture in Europe. In a time defined by climate urgency, social fragmentation, and digital acceleration, the conversation will ask what values must be upheld, reinvented, or let go of. Bringing together advocates, cultural institutions, and policymakers, the panel will define and debate the key principles—such as care, equity, sustainability, heritage, and openness—shaping future spatial practices and the architectural legacy we want to leave.

Participants:

Matevž Čelik – architect, writer, cultural strategist, and head of the European architecture platform LINA;
Jonas Janke – architect, co-founder of studio ‘b+’ and part of the initiators team of the ‘HouseEurope!’ campaign;
Sergei Bazaryia – programme manager of the European Heritage Days, a Council of Europe/EU joint action since 1999;
Jutta Kastner – policy officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

Moderator:

Stathis N. Kalyvas – Greek political scientist, Professor, Chairman of the Board, SNFCC.

15:30

Panel discussion: Acting Locally, Sharing Globally: The Impact of Open House Across Regions

This panel focuses on the Open House format itself, discussing how cooperation between festivals leads to innovation and broader outreach in democratising architectural knowledge across Europe and worldwide. Researchers will present the latest monitoring report covering three years of Open House Europe’s activity, followed by representatives from Open House festivals on other continents sharing their experience of strengthening long-term regional and global connections through collaboration.

Participants:

Tadas Šarūnas – Lithuanian sociologist completing impact research on Open House Europe;
Martynas Germanavičius – Project Lead of Open House Europe;
Tania Davidge – executive director and chief curator of Open House Melbourne, establishing Open House Australia;
Robert Newcombe – British architectural designer and co-founder of Open House Santiago.

Moderator:

Manijeh Verghese – CEO of Open City, an organisation that kickstarted the Open House format in London and the Open House Worldwide network.

17:00

Closing lecture by Theodore Spyropoulos, architect and educator, Director of the Architectural Association Design Research Laboratory in London, Co-Founder of Minimaforms, and Resident Artist at Somerset House.