Universidad Europea Turia Campus will be the official venue of Open House Valencia 2026, strengthening the role of the campus as a meeting point between architecture, heritage, city and knowledge.
The selection of the campus as the festival's venue reinforces the presence of a building that, through its rehabilitation, has recovered its relationship with Valencia's historic centre. Located on Guillem de Castro Street, next to the former Turia riverbed, the old Asilo de San Juan Bautista has been transformed into a contemporary university campus, capable of integrating memory, academic activity and urban life.
A Heritage Intervention by Ramón Esteve Estudio
The project, developed by the studio, is based on a comprehensive intervention that enhances the existing architecture while adapting it to new educational uses. The proposal establishes a dialogue between the historic structure and a contemporary understanding of space, preserving elements of great heritage value, including the cloisters, the chapel, the historic floors and the Nolla mosaics, which form one of the most significant preserved ensembles in the city.
The intervention seeks to recover the identity of the building without interrupting its evolution. Academic spaces are organised through a sequence of courtyards, routes and common areas that encourage interaction between students, teachers and the urban environment. Natural light, spatial continuity and the presence of the original materiality create a serene atmosphere where architectural memory coexists with the needs of a contemporary university campus.
Open Meeting and Presentation of Open House València 2026
The opening event of the new edition of Open House València took place at Campus Turia within the framework of the Open Meeting, bringing together institutional representatives, architecture and design professionals, festival collaborators and citizens. The event included the participation of Rosa Sanchidrián Pardo, Rector of Universidad Europea de Valencia; Sara Portela, Director of Open House València; and Juan Giner, Councillor for Urban Planning and Housing at Valencia City Council, who highlighted the value of the campus as an example of urban transformation.
The meeting also presented the main lines of the Open House València 2026 programme, which will bring architecture closer to citizens through visits, urban routes and open activities. This edition is expected to include access to nearly 80 buildings and different itineraries throughout the city, expanding the reach of a festival that has become a platform for architectural and cultural dissemination.
A Monographic Book on Campus Turia
During the event, the forthcoming publication of a monographic book on Turia Campus, developed by Ramón Esteve Estudio, was also announced. The volume will document the rehabilitation process and its impact on the urban context, offering a considered reading of the project, its heritage dimension and the way architecture can activate new interpretations of the built city.
Cottage in the Vineyard Within the Open House Programme
In parallel, registration has also opened for the visit to Cottage in the Vineyard, another project by Ramón Esteve Estudio that will be part of the Open House programme through a special activity. Situated between a pine forest area and the surrounding vineyards, the project proposes an architecture closely integrated into the landscape, developed on a single level and defined by the relationship between white concrete, pine wood and the natural environment. The visit will offer the opportunity to experience a house conceived as a refuge, where essential geometry and materiality establish a direct connection with the territory.
With this designation, Universidad Europea Turia Campus becomes the starting point for a new edition of Open House València. A place where architecture is not only observed, but inhabited, experienced and shared.
