The Sage, Gateshead. Photo: Roland Hancock

An open-top bus tour of the Modernist buildings of London and a jog taking in the lesser-known architectural delights of NewcastleGateshead are two of the hundreds of events you can join in during the 10th annual Architecture Week.

The aim of the week, running from June 16-25, is to encourage people to find out about architecture and the built environment in an entertaining and informative way. Given the special anniversary, the theme for the national celebration is ‘The Power of 10’.

Andrew Guest, Director of Northern Architecture, thinks it’s time everyone acknowledged how important architecture is to all of us: “I think we take it for granted and assume that it’s there all the time. We don’t question where it comes from and only notice it when something has been taken away."

"I hope that Architecture Week will inspire people to become more vocal about either what they think and feel or what they need to know.”

The Barbican Centre is one of London's largest galleries for major touring exhibitions. Courtesy the Barbican Centre

With this in mind, Arts Council England, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and Architecture Centre Network have lined up all kinds of activities around the country. Comprehensive listings can be found on the Architecture Week website.

Londoners in particular will be spoilt for choice as it’s the London Architecture Biennale in the same week.

One of the capital’s equally reviled and revered buildings, the Barbican Centre, is inviting visitors to appreciate its redeveloped public spaces and hidden nooks and crannies on Sunday June 25, with architect-led tours.

Family tours will run at 11am and 1.30pm; a talk on the foyer redevelopment will also start at 1.30pm and general architecture tours will begin at 3.30pm and 7pm. All the events will be under 1½ hours.

Alternatively, pick up a self-guided tour leaflet and take as long as you like. And you’ll want to see the new exhibition, Future City: Experiment and Utopia in Architecture 1956-2006 to get the bigger picture (runs until September 17 2006).

An unusual banqueting hall awaits those who go below ground at the Brunel Engine House. Courtesy Brunel Engine House Museum

More Modernist ideas can be discovered on an open-top bus tour led by RIBA experts, starting out at a drinks reception in Habitat on Regent Street, 1pm June 25 (free, but book a place on www.habitat.net.

If you prefer your architecture a little more traditional, get to Golders Green tube station at 11am on June 17 and the National Trust will open your eyes to the delights of Arts and Crafts style in Hampstead.

The most intriguing event in central London must be Hunting the Cockney Sparrow, June 23-25. Download the map from www.awol.cc and the treasure hunt for interactive sound sculptures is underway.

Architecture doesn't just happen overground. Guided tube journeys through IK Brunel's first project, the Rotherhithe tunnel, will reveal Doric columns and a banqueting hall! Tours will run between 1pm and 5pm on June 17, 18, 24 and 25 from Brunel Engine House, Rotherhithe (£5, booking advised).

At the other end of the country, the home of stunning recent constructions the Sage Music Centre and the Millennium Bridge over the River Tyne is hosting a range of tours, talks and activities looking at everything from urban regeneration to humble two-up-two-downs in the North East.

Wayne Hemingway will speak out against mediocre homes.

Byker runner Colin Dilks will take the sprightly on an ‘archi-jog’ along Newcastle Quayside and towards the Scotswood development, pointing out built heritage as he goes. The jog starts at 9.30am June 17 outside the Tourist Information Centre at the Guildhall, Newcastle Upon Tyne. Call Colin for more details on 0191 2243892.

Controversy will be in the air when designer and Architecture Week patron Wayne Hemingway kicks off a debate entitled ‘The bad, the ugly and a little bit of good… Why are we delivering such mediocre housing in the UK?’. The discussion will take place at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts (RSA), Newcastle, at 6pm on June 21. See our earlier article for the designer's comments.

Make sure to have a look at the Architecture Week website as there’s stuff going on up and down the country covering the classical to 21st century eco-design.