On the weekend of October 12th and 13th, Open House Tallinn returns with more than 40 buildings opening their doors for free guided tours. The programme offers fascinating locations across Põhja-Tallinn, the city centre, Mustamäe, Tondi, Nõmme, and Kadriorg.

“Our great desire at the Estonian Centre for Architecture is to bring architecture closer to people, and Open House Tallinn makes this possible. Every year, there is an overwhelming number of participants and curious visitors. I hope this curiosity about architecture and design continues, and people come to discover their hometown,” says Hannes Praks, head of the Estonian Centre for Architecture.

This year’s programme features a variety of new locations, such as the Bank of Estonia complex, the newly built Kadriorg Orangerie, and the rebuilt Volta Villa. Industrial locations like the old grain elevator Nõmme Elevator, the future location of Hundipea district, and Luther’s quarter. Historical locations like Kadriorg Palace, Estonian Academy of Sciences, and barracks rebuilt into the Dunten Hotel.

Aligned with the goals of the Open House Europe 2024 programme, this year’s event emphasizes accessibility and inclusion, offering specially designed activities for children and youth. Buildings accessible to wheelchair users are also clearly marked. In addition to tours in Estonian, English, and Russian, there will also be tours conducted in Estonian Sign Language. At the Estonian Academy of Arts, there will be a special tour for the visually impaired and a sensory tour for sighted individuals, where participants will experience the tour with their eyes covered.

The special programme of Open House Tallinn includes exciting talks, workshops, indoor orienteering, and outdoor tours. Tours can be joined on a first-come, first-served basis unless stated otherwise. Registration for tours and detailed tour times can be found on the website. Special tours and lightning talks will primarily be conducted in Estonian.

Special tours at Open House Tallinn include: Stories of garages in Old Town and Kalamaja, Kopli district tour, Kopli children’s tour, street space tour, Niguliste Church tour, Krulli indoor orienteering, Krulli quarter structures tour, TTK architecture institute tour, descriptive tour for the visually impaired, architecture sensory tour, lighting design discovery journey, and lighting design workshops.

Open House Tallinn 2024 is supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment, the City of Tallinn, Rockwool, Ruukki, Reterra, Laufen, Penosil, Endover, Kingivabrik, and Raba.

We invite visitors of Open House Talliinn to participate in the Open Call for Visual Stories. It is an opportunity for everyone to interpret their experiences of the festival and the annual theme of Open House Europe—Accessibility and Inclusion—in any art form they wish—a series of photographs, a short film, a drawing, or any other medium for a visual narrative.