Open House Festival 2025
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ZHF will be participating again in this year’s Open House Festival on Saturday 20 September 2025 from 11am to 3pm. Come and explore parts of our Grade II listed former Victorian primary school, which was also once the HQ of Zaha Hadid Architects. Entry to the building is free, in addition to curator talks at 11:30am and 1pm and a drop-in creative workshop for all ages.
Our Queen Anne-style building is Grade II listed and was completed in 1874 by the School Board for London, opening as the Bowling Green Lane School. The building was designed by E.R. Robson in collaboration with J.J. Stevenson and retains much of its original Victorian layout and exterior. In the 1970s, it ceased operating as a school, and in the 1980s it was divided into artists’ studios where it was once the international headquarters of Zaha Hadid Architects. Her practice grew until it eventually took over the whole building. Since 2022, it has been the home of the Zaha Hadid Foundation, which is returning the building to educational use through public exhibitions, research, and a public programme of events.
Most of the building is normally closed to the public. For Open House, the ground floor of our building will be open for self-guided tours, and we will have printed guides available. In addition, there will be a small display of material and images on the building’s history as a school and the international HQ of Zaha Hadid Architects.
Visitors must book via the Open House Website from 20 August 2025.