News / Bristol
Doors Open Days 2017 to be biggest and boldest yet
Bristol’s citywide celebration of architecture, history and culture returns in September over four days.
Bristol Doors Open Days is the chance to explore fascinating buildings, join guided tours, listen to inspiring talks, and enjoy a range of creative events and activities.
From September 7-10, the festival’s theme of ‘Sensing Space’ will invite festival goers to touch, taste, smell and listen as well as look afresh at more than 100 places opening their doors across the city.
“We want to invite visitors to think about how the built environment interacts with the human body and all of our senses,” said Bristol Doors Open Days festival producer Anna Farthing.
“From seeing the sun rise over the city to smelling the plants in a sensory garden, watching archive film projected in situ or hearing how sound interacts with architecture, we hope that Bristolians and visitors will be able to experience this fascinating city as never before.”
Some of this year’s sensory highlights include the tempting aromas of Avery’s Wine Cellars and the Dawkins Ale brewery, to the more pungent perfumes of Bristol Sewage Treatment Works or Bristol Waste’s depot.
Tickle your taste buds at Feed Bristol in Frencha, lose yourself in the layout of the Malago Greenway berry maze, or just get out to play at the Golden Hill Community Garden.
Take a dip into Henleaze Swimming Lake, dance across the sprung floor of the former Jacob’s Wells Baths and clamber into the man-made tunnels of Redcliffe Caves.
Alongside sensory investigations, the festival has a host of interactive activity including an expanded walks and talks programme featuring the new Balloon Debate event which will playfully contest the good, bad and ugly of our city’s recent constructions.
Speaking at the festival’s launch, Architecture Centre director Sarah James said: “It’s impossible to go through a single day without encountering architecture.
“The built environment is intertwined with every facet of our lives – from our work to our homes to our hobbies and social lives.
“Our festival Bristol Doors Open Days is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to get out into the city and explore the spaces and places they walk past every day.
“As our city expands and grows, we are proud to celebrate its design feats by engaging everyone in the conversation.”
For more information about Bristol Doors Open Days, visit www.bristoldoorsopenday.org.uk
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