On 18 September, Aarhus School of Architecture hosts the sixth edition of the international architecture festival OPEN, presented this year under the title Mies Didn’t Come Home That Night.

With history as catalyst, this year’s edition approaches modernism as an ongoing and contested condition, tracing its enduring material, spatial and ideological implications for architecture and society. At the same time, OPEN turns towards the speculative, asking how utopian thinking might operate as a critical lens for reconfiguring architectural practice and its future imaginaries.

Through a curated programme of debates and conversations, OPEN convenes architects, researchers, philosophers and decision makers across disciplines, generations and geographies. From six stages, more than 50 contributors from around the globe share their perspectives.

OPEN26 is curated by Karen Kjærgaard in collaboration with Aysha Amin, Ida Bjerga, and Aria Gilani.