The 2025 Open House festival in Stockholm successfully concluded, showcasing architectural and cultural landmarks with a distinct focus on the Open House Europe theme, ‘Future Heritage’. Over three days, 105 buildings and sites opened their doors to the public, offering insight into how this city was built, formed into what it is now, and how it will continue to develop. The festival was supported by 77 volunteers and organised by a dedicated team of six.

Celebrating Dual Anniversaries

Marking the tenth festival in Stockholm, a special emphasis was placed on the anniversary of Open House Stockholm, integrated with the 30th anniversary of The National City Park. This was achieved by coordinating efforts to showcase multiple sites and buildings within the park, both before and during the festival. Two separate landing pages were created on our website: one to honour our 10th-year anniversary and one to highlight the anniversary of The National City Park.

Furthermore, emphasis was put on the common theme for Open House Europe: Future Heritage. In total, 80 buildings showcased this topic, exploring how our buildings in the city are both shaped by our past and how they will shape the future.

Among the most popular sites were Stockholmsrummet (The Stockholm Room) and Prins Carls Palats (Prince Carl’s Palace). Stockholmsrummet, the City of Stockholm’s exhibition and information centre dedicated to urban development, allowed people to actively participate in shaping the city’s future heritage. Conversely, Prins Carls Palats—a villa on Djurgården built in 1844 in Roman style and now the Spanish Ambassador’s residence—offered a window into the city’s significant historical past through its preserved architecture.

These sites demonstrate the citizens’ keen interest in the development and history of the city, highlighting a desire to understand both where Stockholm is going and where it came from. Our greatest achievement this year was the broad diversity of our audience. We successfully opened buildings and sites in underserved areas, welcoming people of all ages who traditionally do not engage with the city’s architects and builders. This effort has effectively bridged the gap between design professionals and the wider community they serve.

Programme Highlights: Defining Future Heritage

Three specific projects exemplified the festival’s exploration of Future Heritage:

Forskaren
Forskaren was selected to showcase the annual topic because it represents a deliberate and enduring investment in the future identity and progress of the city. The project signifies a commitment to constructing a legacy of innovation in the life science sector that future generations will inherit. Its unique, durable architecture, central location in the new Hagastaden district, and purpose as a hub for collaboration across academia, research, and business mark it as a contemporary structure intentionally built to be a future landmark. Furthermore, its publicly accessible ground floor and interactive exhibitions, such as ‘The Cell’, ensure that the cutting-edge work of today becomes a tangible and understandable part of Stockholm’s developing cultural and intellectual heritage.

Hagastaden City Walk
The industrially historic ‘Blästern’ quarter was chosen to showcase Future Heritage because it powerfully illustrates the adaptive reuse and continuity of Stockholm’s urban development. The district serves as a physical timeline, blending well-preserved industrial architecture from the 1930s—where famous products like Julmust and Zingo were made—with the ultra-modern 21st-century life science hub of Hagastaden. By retaining buildings like the one designed by Ragnar Östberg (architect of Stockholm City Hall) and integrating them into the new 120,000 sqm mixed-use complex, the site demonstrates how the tangible assets of the past are valued, adapted, and actively built upon to form the foundation of the city’s future legacy.

Solberga School
Solberga School was selected as a prime example of preserved and adaptively reused 1950s architecture designed by Paul Hedqvist. Holding a ‘green classification’ for its cultural-historical value, the school features preserved original details like the magnificent light hall with its characteristic round lantern. The tour, led by architecture historian Martin Rörby, emphasised how the 1950s architectural vision has been successfully transformed into a vibrant and renovated learning environment for today’s students, bridging past design with future needs.

Looking Back to Move Forward

Additional activities further deepened the conversation. The OH! POPUP: New Slussen and the History Behind the Result focused on the long, complicated process culminating in the new Slussen transformation, set for completion in 2028. Slussen was selected to showcase Future Heritage because it represents a legacy of urban evolution and democratic compromise. Its protracted development demonstrates that Future Heritage is a process of navigating diverse demands and transforming a crucial historical asset to ensure its functionality for the next century.

Finally, ‘In the Footsteps of Death’, a guided bike tour led by archivist Hampus Busk, explored Stockholm’s history through the lens of death and burial sites. From medieval traditions to the World Heritage site Skogskyrkogården, the event highlighted the intangible and architectural legacy of human experience. It demonstrated that Future Heritage includes the careful stewardship of sacred, reflective spaces and their related social histories, ensuring these profound civic legacies are understood and passed on.