The 2019 Open House edition was the most popular ever
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This year's Open House included guided tours to 70 venues in the cities of Porto, Matosinhos, and Vila Nova de Gaia. This edition attracted the biggest crowds with 37.578 visitors joining the event, making this one of the most popular Open Houses ever.
The fifth edition took place during the weekend, on 29 and 30 June, and it was devoted to "the inner life of cities. The event was managed by architects Joana Couceiro and Nuno Valentim Lopes.
"The programming was very well planned and it was done according to people's curiosity regarding architecture in these three cities: Porto, Matosinhos and Vila Nova de Gaia", explains the Director of Casa da Arquitetura, Nuno Sampaio.
The organisation "mobilized 300 volunteers, 107 experts, in a total of 189 guided tours and over 760 opening hours".
Open House Porto 2019 featured visits to 44% private homes, 37% cultural institutions, 12% commercial venues, and 7% infrastructures.
In the city of Porto, the most visited building was Porto City Hall, with 1.408 visitors, whereas in Matosinhos, the Cruise Terminal of Leixões totalised 8.692 visits, the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar, in Gaia, welcomed 2.799 visitors and Torre Altice totalised 2.110 callers and Casa da Arquitetura, in Matosinhos welcomed 1.681. About 1.013 visitors took a look at Casa Fez, in Foz, Porto.
"What we will showcase this year is the intimate city; the city that we seldom know, but concurrently, it is an architecture that the population in general grasps and is interested in, because they will visit these places, many of those dwellings", as explained by Nuno Sampaio, on the occasion of the presentation of the 2019 Open House edition, which is jointly organised by the City Halls of Porto, Matosinhos and Vila Nova de Gaia.
The concept behind the "Open House" initiative is very significant and important: showcasing exceptional architecture and giving public access to noteworthy private buildings and other spaces that aren't normally open to the general public. These events are free of charge.