The 48h Open House Barcelona Festival 2025 was held between 25 and 26 October and gathered 76,800 people curious about architecture. The public’s interest in the built environment and the desire to access it through the festival, enjoying a cultural weekend party, is growing stronger yearly.

Held under the Catalan title of ‘Sent l’arquitectura’ (Eng. feel/hear the architecture), the 16th edition activated visitors to reacquaint themselves with the built environment sensorially. The sprawling programme across seven cities delved into paying attention to everyday sensations, connecting people with architecture beyond materials, concepts and crafts. The idea was not to look only at design or appearance, but at the impact that a place has on every person: embracing us, giving us space to breathe, or allowing us to be ourselves.

To illustrate this, the festival used real images to highlight sensations such as harmony, essence, pleasure, reflection, surprise, calm, well-being and warmth. In addition, a poet wrote verses about each of these sensations—a project shared through social media profiles. Through this lens, visitors engaged with the continent-wide theme of ‘Future Heritage’, understanding the subjective and emotional nature of deciding what gets preserved and what is relegated.

Patrimonis Futurs (Future Heritage) 

Ahead of the main festival weekend, a round-table discussion titled Patrimonis Futurs invited reflection on the role of heritage in building a shared future. Held on 17 June as part of the Architecture Weeks programme at the Miró Foundation library, the event addressed key questions: in the context of European cities, where architectural layers from different eras coexist, which aspects of the past did we choose to preserve? Which are relegated or controversial? And how do current values and lifestyles shape these decisions?

The discussion was moderated by Marc Aureli Santos, an architect specialising in heritage and president of ARQUIN-FAD. Guest speakers included Gemma Serch, architect and expert in heritage; Josep Maria Boronat, architect and president of AADIPA; Montserrat Villaverde, art historian and researcher; and Antoni Ribas, cultural journalist for the ARA newspaper.

Montjuïc: A Fusion of Legacies 

The topic of ‘Future Heritage’ was felt especially closely through tours of Montjuïc. This hillside area is home to different types of sites where distinct legacies fuse, showing how heritage evolves and generates fresh cultural possibilities. The visit focused on three key buildings to review their various renovations and current uses.

First, the tour explored the Palau Nacional, built for the 1929 International Exhibition; after a major renovation by Gae Aulenti in the 1990s, it now houses the MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya). Second, visitors experienced the Barcelona Pavilion. A symbolic work of the modern movement designed by Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich for the 1929 Exhibition, it was rebuilt in 1986 and is now the headquarters of the Mies van der Rohe Foundation.

Finally, the tour included Poble Espanyol. Opened in 1929 to bring together the architectural essence of different towns for the International Exhibition, it includes 117 full-scale buildings replicating constructions from fifteen Spanish regions. Today, it operates as a cultural facility for family activities, concerts and exhibitions.

Hospital de Sant Pau 

The tour of the Hospital de Sant Pau offered a distinct perspective on how architecture is viewed from a heritage standpoint. Designed by Lluís Doménech i Montaner, the hospital was completed in 1930 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The visit included the Casa de Convalecencia, one of the last works of Catalan modernism.

In contrast to the historic site, the tour also visited Kálida, a centre built in 2017 and designed by Miralles Tagliabue. Kálida offers refuge to people with cancer, their families and carers. Both the visit to the site in general and to these buildings in particular influenced the way visitors understood the layering of time and care in architecture.

La Capell 

For the second time, La Capell served as the festival’s official bookshop. It curated a selection of books aligned with this year’s theme, made visible in the physical space of the shop. To further the reach, festival ambassadors shared their favourite book from that choice. The compilation was intended to be accessible to all audiences, giving all users of the bookshop access to the festival’s theme.