Architecture curator Manijeh Verghese has been announced as the CEO of Open City, which runs the Open House London festival. In this exclusive interview, she explains her plans for the educational charity.
Verghese, who was announced as Open City's new CEO today, wants the organisation to focus on changing cities for the better.
"Open City has this potential through their incredible reach"
"In my experience, both professionally and through my own lived experience as a South Asian woman, I'm very aware that cities are shaped by a powerful few," she told Dezeen.
"I really think that Open City has this potential, through their incredible reach and the ways in which they engage the public, to really become a space where we can test guidance and run workshops and disseminate projects across the whole of London," Verghese added. "[It can] have a direct impact, therefore, on how all Londoners can shape their city."
Trained as an architect, Verghese was keen to take on the role as she believes that the charity's mission aligns with her own and will allow her to build on her previous roles, which have been largely focused on creating more equitable cities.
Manijeh Verghese (top image) co-curated the 2021 British Pavilion (above)
Before moving to Open City, Verghese was head of public engagement at London's Architectural Association, where she developed its free public programme.
Understanding how public spaces can be redesigned was also the fo...