Open Doors Engadin 2023: The great architectural experience enters its second round

For the second time, Open Doors Engadin invites you to take a look behind the scenes: Legendary hotel buildings, picturesque Engadin houses, modern apartment buildings, churches, school buildings, infrastructure buildings, museums and architects’ studios open their doors to the public. These include numerous buildings that are otherwise not – or only partially – accessible to the public.

The buildings, the architects and the stories behind them open up new perspectives on the region – from the mountain-Italian border village of Castasegna to the Upper Engadin and S-chanf. The free architecture event has over 80 buildings in its Portfolio in 2023. A full third of them are new compared to the previous year. This season’s highlights include the legendary Art Nouveau-style Hotel Grace La Margna in St. Moritz, which will celebrate its rebirth as a boutique hotel in summer 2023. In Pontresina, you can visit the newly opened 4-star Hotel Maistra 160, the work of renowned Graubünden architect Gion A. Caminada, while in St. Moritz you have the rare opportunity to walk through a striking apartment building designed by architects Pablo Horváth, whose towering form is reminiscent of the residential tower typology from the late Middle Ages that can be found throughout Graubünden. The Studio Cascina Garbald in Castasegna by architect Armando Ruinelli is simple yet architecturally impressive.

This is also the last chance to visit the Julier Tower: The temporary theater house made entirely of wood in the spectacular landscape of the Julier Pass will only remain in place until August 2023. 

Communicating architecture and raising awareness

The aim is to give interested parties access behind otherwise closed doors for a weekend. As an educational program, Open Doors Engadin thus contributes to anchoring knowledge about architecture and its significance for the development of our living spaces in the public domain. The event also aims to promote dialog between experts and laypeople, between building users and architecture enthusiasts, between residents of the region and visitors, and to enable everyone to participate in the public debate. “We are delighted that Open Doors Engadin is being continued after last year’s success. It shows that the region’s residents and homeowners are not closed-minded, but are happy to share the cultural and architectural heritage of the Engadin and Bergell,” explains Christoph Oggenfuss, co-initiator of the event and president of the non-profit association behind it. This year, St. Moritz is supporting the ambitious project as patron municipality.

Christian Jott Jenny, Mayor of St. Moritz, explains: “As this year’s patron municipality, we are supporting Open Doors Engadin to make our architectural heritage accessible to the public. There are real architectural treasures in St. Moritz, both privately and publicly owned, which enable locals and visitors to get to know and appreciate the special features of our townscape in a new way.” The circle of experts and friends, which supports the Open Doors Engadin association with its expertise and commitment, has around 40 members. Camilla Minini, ETH architect and director and curator of the Engadin Museum, comments on the architectural peculiarities of the valley: “The architecture of the Maloja region reflects the landscape in which it is located. The architecture here has a strong functional and narrative side.”

Explore buildings independently or with special guided tours

Visitors have various options for experiencing Open Doors Engadin. They can select individual buildings via the gallery, the timetable or the interactive map on the Open Doors Engadin website and visit them according to opening times. In addition, guided architecture walks are offered in the villages of the Upper Engadine, each of which takes a closer look at up to five buildings. The third offer is the Open Doors Specials, which include themed tours on outstanding architectural personalities, for example with a Bruno Giacometti specialist. Or the architecture hike with visits to buildings in the Fex Valley with architect Nicola Nett. Opening times, guided tours and additional information on the individual buildings can be found at www.opendoors-engadin.org, with links to Google Maps that take you directly to your destination “turn by turn”.

With the help of various filters, visitors can put together an individual tour by marking their favorite program points. The program has been continuously updated since the end of March. Many tours have a limited number of places and the necessary reservations can be made from the end of May. The visits, guided tours, walks and specials are free of charge for all participants in the interests of promoting architectural discourse.  

Further information