The countdown to the celebration of the first Open House Palma and the organization has announced the buildings that will open their doors on the weekend of November 6 and 7, free of charge. It is the most powerful festival of these characteristics that has been held in the city and the program promises not to disappoint.
During that weekend, more than 80 buildings will open and spaces that are considered best examples of architecture Y design of Palm and are usually closed to the public. And beyond the visits, Other activities have been organized, such as conferences, walking or cycling routes.
The festival is led by the architect Eduard Yuste and the cultural manager Daniel Gallego, and intends to get away from the Palma that usually appears on postcards, the most touristic of the historic center, to go to the neighborhoods and make known other corners of the city that are less known, but they are also part of the heritage.
During the festival, the doors of the most representative buildings and spaces of all the districts will open. The country houses with traditional patios, avant-garde buildings, modernist buildings, military infrastructures such as castles or bastions, bomb shelters, and city infrastructure, represent the heritage variety of Palma.
Habitatges socials al carrer d'Ignasi Barraquer.
Of the 80 buildings, it stands out especially its diversity. They are found in different parts of the city, they are from different styles, types, periods and both public and private.
As the director of Open House Palma, Eduard Yuste, explains, the festival is based on the premise that there is a certain collective awareness regarding the conservation and protection of great monuments. But also, “a certain lack of these values with respect to that more humble, anonymous or more neighborhood architectural heritage”.
That the citizens know the buildings of Palma and is capable of creating affective bonds with its heritage, is, for Yuste, even today “a pending task”.
The festival Open House it has a long journey. Yuste says that the term was coined in London in 1992, from the hand of architect Victoria Thornton, she who had the intention of generating a critical current among the citizens, so that they would be able to relate directly to architecture and design, thus being able to demand a better quality of the built environment.
After several investigations, Thorton came to the conclusion that the best way for its neighbors to interact with the best examples of the city's architectural heritage was visiting them for free, and that they were explained in clear language, without technicalities.
Oceanographic Institute, Palma.
According to Yuste, this is how this movement continued to grow, internationalize and expand. Currently, almost 50 cities have embraced the concept, under the Open House Family organization, which has also been joined by Palma.
In his opinion, not only must the great historical monuments be protected and publicized in the city, but also “all those elements that are part of the cultural heritage of a society”, since there is not a major heritage and a minor one, but "everything is part of the same whole".
This is precisely the objective of the Open House festival: publicize the architecture and heritage of the city, directly to the whole of society, using a simple and popular language.
Palace of the Council, Palma.
The festival is being held in the city for the first time this year due to the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, as The organization has been working on this project for two years and they have had to postpone the date twice, he says.
The activities will be distributed in four time slots: Saturday and Sunday, November 6 and 7, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Plywood House, Palma.
Each building has an assigned schedule and admission is free. All visits will be guided by the volunteer team, with prior specific training, who will be in charge of organizing queues and giving explanations. In specific cases it will be necessary to register in advance. to access the spaces and activities.
Among the activities prepared, stand out the Open Talks to dialogue with knowledgeable people about architecture and social responsibility, coronavirus, climate crisis and gender.
Also the Open Walks, the routes on foot, and the Open Bike, by bicycle, that are linked to the festival's programming, covering areas beyond architecture, such as urban planning, the urban landscape and infrastructures of the city. Those who wish to participate in the bicycle routes must bring their own.
Sala Gran, Teatre Principal, 1857, Palma de Mallorca.
In addition, there will be children's workshops and a photography course to invite to immortalize the buildings that participate in this first edition. The contest is divided into two categories: one professional and one popular through Instagram.
Some of the spaces and buildings that will be open are the Juan March Foundation Museum, the Parliament of the Balearic Islands, the Main Theatre, the Bellver Castle, the Moneo Building of the Miró Mallorca Foundation, the Son Espases University Hospital, the Congress Palace and social housing in the north and east.