Doors Open Days 2020 is going digital!
Doors Open Days, Scotland's biggest free festival of architecture, will present its largest ever digital offering this September!
Article Source: Doors Open Days
Last Updated: 5 June 2020 11:25
Image Credit: Smart History
Doors Open Days will celebrate Scotland’s buildings and stories online, through tours, lectures, DIY learning events and more.
We’re responding to current concerns surrounding COVID-19 by making Doors Open Days 2020 more digital so that people across Scotland and the world can continue to safely explore Scotland’s buildings, spaces and places. A limited number of venues will still be open for physical visits this year, but we expect most people will enjoy new and cherished Scottish sites from the comfort of their armchair!
All across Scotland, we’re harnessing the good will and spirit of adventure of local organisations to create unique content that will inspire, educate and amuse anyone with an interest in buildings. Last year virtual visitors could scale the heights of Paisley Abbey and our Young Advisory Panel staged Instagram takeovers – what digital discoveries will you make this year? We’re asking venues and groups to produce a wide range of online offerings, such as Facebook and Instagram Live guided tours, recorded oral histories, webinars, 360-degree tours, virtual exhibitions, question and answer sessions and more. If you’re interested in joining in, we have compiled some great resources and ideas for venues and organisations interested in taking part that will help you take the first steps.
We’ll be hosting everything on the Doors Open Days website, from where you’ll be able to explore nooks and crannies in venues large and small across Scotland this September. The Scottish Civic Trust will also be creating a weekly zine highlighting all of the exciting digital events and tours, which will be sent out through Doors Open Days’ social media channels and e-bulletin. Make sure to sign up to receive your zine!
Ticket booking systems only for physical access to venues
We only encourage people to access buildings where the venue operators are confident it’s safe to do so. The small number of events and buildings that will be open for physical visits will use a ticketing system to monitor and ensure safe access according to the most current social distancing guidelines. Numbers of visitors will be limited and monitored in line with the latest government recommendations appropriate to the Phase of lockdown in Scotland and the requirements of their and our insurers.
Director of the Scottish Civic Trust, Dr Susan O’Connor, said: “We’re delighted to encourage our venues to become more digital this year through Doors Open Days - it’s the best way to reach a broader range of people with Scotland’s unique heritage, both at home and across the world. In particular, we’re looking forward to helping our beautiful buildings and places become more accessible to those who wouldn’t normally be able to take part in Doors Open Days for physical or cultural reasons. Making the built environment easier for everyone to enjoy is a core part of what we do.”
Chair of Scottish Civic Trust, Colin McLean, said: “We at Scottish Civic Trust are excited to support the new direction for this year’s Doors Open Days as a digital festival. By taking the festival online we are not only keeping our venues and communities safe, but offering support to organisations across Scotland to develop their digital literacy. We hope that our support will give venues confidence to have a continued online presence, and that digital engagement will become a mainstay of heritage outreach in the years to come.”
Chief Executive of Historic Environment Scotland, Alex Paterson, said: “Providing a strong digital platform for this year’s Doors Open Day activities is a great way of ensuring people can enjoy different aspects of Scotland’s rich historic architectural heritage.
Since the onset of Covid-19, we have all had to adapt to new ways of doing things, with technology playing a key role in helping achieve that, and again, here we see another great example of that in action with this year’s event.
I would like to applaud the team at Doors Open Days on their creative thinking here and we at HES are proud to again be part of this fantastic annual celebration of our heritage.”
Sponsored Links
Latest Renfrewshire News
The Bungalow is a musical home from home for rocker Davey
Rock star vocalist Davey Pattison spent 40 years performing in arenas and stadiums all over America.
READ MORE
Annual recruitment event returns to Braehead Shopping Centre
On Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th September, Braehead Shopping Centre will host its 3rd annual recruitment event.
READ MORE
Online radio chat show going from strength to strength
When Rachael Smith started hosting her weekly chat show 'Buddie Talk' on Paisley Radio back in March this year, she never envisioned that it would take off quite as much as it has.
READ MORE
Award winning show Stuntman comes to Paisley Arts Centre
Award-winning Scottish company SUPERFAN will bring their high-octane smash hit Edinburgh Fringe show Stuntman to Paisley Arts Centre on Wednesday 17th September!
READ MORE
Spooky season returns to town with the announcement of Paisley Halloween Festival 2025
Paisley Halloween Festival will return to town next month to celebrate the spooky season with a packed programme of frightful fun for all the family!
READ MORE
Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival returns for its 12th edition
Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival returns for its 12th edition on the big screen in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and Inverness from 1st to 19th October 2025.
READ MORE
Cineworld 4DX Rewind returns for 2025
Cineworld is excited to announce the return of 4DX Rewind this September across Cineworld 4DX cinemas nationwide!
READ MORE
Final countdown to the AJ Bell Great Scottish Run 2025 is on
Scotland's greatest running event, the AJ Bell Great Scottish Run, will return to Glasgow next month, and there’s still time to secure your place.
READ MORE
Marstons and Tom Shepherd join forces once more to serve up the best ever pub pie
Marston's and Michelin-starred chef Tom Shepherd have teamed up once more to serve up The Best Ever Pub Pie to locals across the country.
READ MORE
Edinburgh Fringe smash hit Oran embarks on first UK tour
Òran, the award-winning sell-out hit of the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe embarks on its first ever UK tour this autumn as company Wonder Fools take their work to a host of venues across Scotland.
READ MORE
M&Ds teams up with Zombie Infection for a heart pounding, live action horror attraction
M&D's is set to transform into Scotland's Scream Park with the launch of Zombie Checkpoint, a live action immersive horror experience creating a heart racing adventure not for the faint hearted.
READ MORE
Iconic films to take centre stage at Vue venues in Scotland
Iconic movies celebrating key milestones this year are returning to Vue for a limited run - including Steven Spielberg classic Jaws.
READ MORE
20 expert sessions at The Scottish Homebuilding & Renovating Show
The Scottish Homebuilding & Renovating Show will be packed with expert speakers when it returns to the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston on 4th – 5th October 2025.
READ MORE
A Taste of Loch Lomond Book launches with live cooking demo at the Loch Lomond Food & Drink Festival
Love Loch Lomond will officially launch its new publication, A Taste of Loch Lomond – Stories and Flavours from the Bonnie Banks, at the Loch Lomond Food & Drink Festival on Sunday 7th September.
READ MORE
Seriously fun ideas for your work Christmas Party
It might only be September, but the C-word is not too far away, so it's time to start thinking about planning the annual office Christmas shindig before everything gets booked up!
READ MORE
Winners of the 2025 Love Paisley Star Awards unveiled
The winners of this year's Love Paisley Star Awards have been announced.
READ MORE
Business Gateway launches its first ever Scottish Start Up Month
Business Gateway, Scotland's national business support service, has launched Scottish Start-Up Month, a nationwide campaign to celebrate Scotland's entrepreneurial spirit.
READ MORE
Young people bring colour to Paisley through new murals
Young people have created three vibrant new murals to transform an area of Seedhill, Paisley.
READ MORE
Iconic buildings across Renfrewshire set to welcome visitors for Doors Open Days 2025
Spectacular venues from across Renfrewshire will welcome visitors as part of this year's Doors Open Days.
READ MORE
Fresh new line up for one of the biggest FREE food and drink festivals in Scotland
Vikings, a pie eating competition, new celebrated chef and dog & duck shows set to bring new energy to Loch Lomond Food and Drink Festival this September.
READ MORE
From pouring pints to the red carpet: The Scottish Bar and Pub Awards 2025 crowns its hospitality stars!
The winners of the 2025 Scottish Bar & Pub Awards were unveiled on the 26th of August at a glittering, Oscars-themed ceremony held at the Doubletree by Hilton, Glasgow.
READ MORE
Best Croissant Competition returns for 2025
The Edinburgh Butter Company has announced the return of its ‘Scotland’s Best Croissant’ competition on Monday 13th October.
READ MORE
GlasGLOW announces all new show for 2025, inspired by the legendary 80s campaign that made Glasgow smile
itison has confirmed that GlasGLOW will return to the Botanic Gardens from 24th October – 2nd November for its eighth year and with its biggest show yet... GlasGLOW's Miles Better!
READ MORE
Historic Environment Scotland launches Talking About Heritage
People across Scotland invited to take part in national conversation about heritage.
READ MORE
Tickets now on sale for The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo closes the drawbridge on its 75th anniversary Show, as tickets for next year go on sale.
READ MORE
Beat the Street is returning to Renfrewshire
An interactive game encouraging people of all ages to get active and explore their local surroundings is set to return to towns and villages across Renfrewshire this autumn.
READ MORE
Momentum builds at Braehead with surge in sales, footfall and leasing
SGS UK Retail has announced that Braehead Shopping Centre is going from strength to strength, headlining outstanding sales and footfall growth for the year to date.
READ MORE
Primark celebrates 50 years in Scotland with a wee nod to loyal Scots in all stores today
Scottish shoppers will hardly believe it when they see it today as Primark finally relents on one of its biggest brand debates after 50 years.
READ MORE
Christmas at Crieff Hydro returns with magical line up of festive activities
Scotland's best loved family resort, Crieff Hydro, has unveiled details of a specially curated programme of events as it prepares to welcome guests over the festive period.
READ MORE
Scots Language Awards 2025 shortlist unveiled
The shortlist for the Scots Language Awards 2025 has been unveiled, with figures from Scottish literature, theatre, education and business all in the running for awards at the annual ceremony.
READ MORESponsored Links
Sponsored Links