

Photo courtesy John Arun

The 12th annual Open House New York (OHNY) returns this October 11th and 12th, unlocking doors to over 300 places—some of which you normally wouldn't get to see. Reservations go fast, so peruse the just-released partial itinerary before they open on October 1st (full itinerary coming in a week).

Gregory Wessner, executive director of OHNY, says the weekend "is a reminder of the visceral power of experience, and how the act of discovering a great building or interior can transform us. With this year’s broad selection of offerings, it is our hope that we can inform, inspire, and instill an appreciation for New York’s built and natural environment to all who participate." The weekend doesn't just include tours and photo ops, but talks, special programming, and the chance to engage with architects, engineers, and urban planners.

This year, OHNY is offering more and different types of open access sites, from iconic landmarks to historic restorations to sustainable buildings, and award-winning new construction. They sent along this sampling:



The Barbarian Group’s new Chelsea office, featuring the 4,400-sq-ft "Superdesk," made out of plywood and a single pour of resin that flows throughout the office and seats over a hundred employees.



Battery Weed, one of the earliest intact structures at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, where visitors can take in spectacular views of New York Harbor and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, directly overhead.



The new Midtown flagship headquarters of legendary modern furniture design firm Knoll, featuring office spaces, a showroom, and a new design shop overlooking the Avenue of the Americas.



The Office of the Manhattan Borough President in the historic Municipal Building, where a special display of official maps of the borough will include the 1811 “Commissioner’s Plan” that established the Manhattan street grid.



The Great Hall of the New York Hall of Science, a 100-foot-tall space with no corners or straight segments built as a pavilion for the 1964-65 World’s Fair that will open for a public “sneak peek” during OHNY Weekend after a multi-year restoration by Ennead Architects.



The Sims Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility, a new waterfront facility where the public can view the recycling of metal, glass, and plastic.



The Spitzer School of Architecture’s Solar Roofpod, a student designed plus-net-energy micro-dwelling and garden designed for the 2011 Solar Decathlon and rescued from storage to be installed on the roof of the school’s Rafael Viñoly-designed building as a living classroom.



The 1875 Williamsburgh Savings Bank building, an architectural treasure that recently underwent a meticulous restoration to become Weylin B. Seymour’s, a sumptuous event space that is truly a feast for the eyes.

On top of that, the TWA Flight Center at JFK, an iconic piece of mid-century work from architect Eero Saarinen, will once again be open. Also... a rare chance to get inside the Woolworth Building: