Your guide to Open House London: the most unique and iconic buildings opening their doors for one weekend only

To mark the 25th year of Open House London, the annual celebration of the city’s best buildings will include all 33 boroughs for the first time. The event — being held over the weekend of September 16-17 — will offer free entry to 800 properties, plus talks and walks focusing on the buildings themselves and on the neighbourhoods where we live, work and play.

Last year 250,000 Londoners took part. This year a welcome trend in new homes and one-off housing is inventiveness with renewable materials, especially timber: from cross-laminated plywood that’s super-strong for structural use, to hardwoods including oak, ash — even burnt exterior timber.

There’s also a strong showing for brick, which in the right hands is transformative. Meanwhile, several homes triumph over tight or difficult sites or work miracles with tiny inside space, in some cases making use of ingenious bespoke furniture. It’s the London of the future. There’s also a big hurrah for an intrepid group who tore down their old block of flats to make fantastic new homes.

Here’s our pick of the bunch, including one home so new, it’s only just being finished.

FOR GUARANTEED WOW FACTOR

Battersea Power Station has revealed it will open to the public on open Sunday 17 September, with entry determined by ballot only.

More than 40,000 visitors took advantage of the opportunity to see inside the iconic building when it last took part in Open House weekend, four years ago.

6 Wood Lane, Highgate, by Birds Portchmouth Russum Architects: this house with double-height rooms, a smokers balcony and a semi-circular winter garden appears to be straight out of Thunderbirds. It’s a thrilling new home that will make your heart skip a beat.

Hidden House, Clerkenwell Green, by Coffey Architects: Coffey is brilliant with difficult spaces and on this constrained site, light is brought in from floating rooflights, used to advantage in a serene house that’s smart and very private.

SMALL IS GORGEOUS

Islington Micro Flat, by CIAO (Creative Ideas & Architecture Office): this compact home cleverly shows off what you can do with just 385sq ft of space. Check out the sliding-out bed and the drawers in the stairs. The furniture is all bespoke and looks great. Genius.

A Kitchen on Wheels, Wood Green, by Turner Architects: inside a cute Victorian railway cottage, the architects used a metamorphic piece of furniture on wheels — a total kitchen that also works as a room divider or a bookcase, pushed aside for parties.

Sail Street, Lambeth, by HKR Architects: developer Pocket Living launches its impressive new scheme of 27 one-bedroom flats, including one wheelchair-access, plus three two-bedroom homes and a shared roof terrace. Local residents get 35 per cent off the market value. Pocket works hard to create high-quality living spaces, and it shows.

1a Woodland Road, Crystal Palace, designed by Melinda Styles and Jon Storey: the smallest flat on show at 286sq ft, super high-set windows bring in bags of light, while the interiors are made from free or found materials. It’s The Borrowers’ style for the modern age.

RENEWABLE BLISS

Barretts Grove, Stoke Newington, by Amin Taha Architects: this project uses cross-laminated timber instead of steel for the structure of six units, which are then brick-faced outside. The six homes in this slender block are woody inside and they have striking wicker balconies. Deserving winner of a RIBA London award.

35 Lutwyche Road, Lewisham, by BAM! architecture studio: on a tiny end-of-terrace plot, the finishing touches are being put to a triangular courtyard home which uses skylights well, but where the big attraction is striking burnt-timber cladding — it sits brilliantly alongside its Victorian brick neighbour.

Domino Houses, Wood Green, by Studio Verve: black again, but this time in brick, also shows to good advantage at Domino Houses. This scheme of eight homes with curving green roofs — and the striking porthole windows that prompted the name Domino — was a deserving finalist in the 2016 Brick Awards.

Foundry Mews, Barnes High Street, SW13, by Project Orange: another bricky winner, this time on a tricky backland site that has been turned into a sustainable development of seven homes on top of workshops, set along a courtyard. Lovely, well-done brick detailing really lifts the exteriors.

Hafer Road, Wandsworth, by Peter Barber Architects: for sheer brick-balled verve, have a look at Hafer Road. The residents of a council block all bought their flats, then they clubbed together to co-build this striking development instead that gives them bigger apartments for growing or extended families. Seven flats for residents were funded by eight flats for sale. Smart flats, smart thinking, and a brilliant model for future housing.