Peek inside architectural gems with Open Christchurch

Friday, 21 March 2025

The 2025 Open Christchurch architecture festival takes place the first weekend of May. Across two days, the doors to 51 of the city’s buildings will be open for the public to tour.

Curious about what is behind the fences at Christchurch’s new stadium?

A rare glimpse is on offer when the annual architecture festival Open Christchurch returns the first weekend of May.

Architecture junkies can step inside 51 of the most exceptional buildings that define the city, from Gothic Revival masterpieces to modern marvels still under construction.

Visitors can explore a hotel housed in a former clothing factory, an 1880 jailhouse made by prisoners turned backpackers, and the aligned trapdoors in the Arts Centre’s Observatory Hotel - made for a pendulum to swing to demonstrate the Earth’s rotation.

Designed by Benjamin Mountfort and constructed in England, the Victoria Clock Tower arrived in 1860 in 142 packages. (File image)

This year the programme highlights Benjamin Mountfort-designed buildings with a guided walk and exhibition, commemorating 200 years since his birth.

Chairperson of the Youth Hub Trust Dame Sue Bagshaw hoped the new building can be a place for young people to gather. (File image)

The prominent 19th century architect and leading exponent of the Gothic Revival style has a strong presence in the fabric of Ōtautahi, with 12 of his buildings or structures featured in the programme, including The Arts Centre, Victoria Clock Tower and the Great Hall.

Some of the city’s newest buildings are also throwing their doors open, including Dame Sue Bagshaw’s recently opened one-of-a-kind youth facility, The Court Theatre, which will be celebrating its opening weekend, and the One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha still under construction.

Korako Whānau Papakāinga, by Royal Associates Architects 2023, connects whānau, whenua (land), whare (housing) and whakapapa (ancestral ties).

Stadium visitors will be able to go behind the fences and get up close to grandstands, while taking in the roofline from the inside.

Old historical favourites include the mothballed Canterbury Provincial Council buildings and Christ Church Cathedral.

A private chapel steeply pitched in Lyttelton Harbour is the smallest building in the programme, while residential homes with architectural excellence can also be explored. Whānau will open their doors on ancestral Māori land at the Rāpaki Papakāinga, to display dwellings centred around landscapes surrounding cooking and dining areas with gardens.

The event is organised each year by Te Pūtahi - the Centre for Architecture and City-Making.

Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings, by Benjamin Mountfort, 1858-65.

Director Jessica Halliday said the festival was about appreciating architecture and building connections with special places.

For the first time since its inception in 2021, free-standing architectural structural objects will be celebrated too, Halliday said.

These include Lychgate at Holy Trinity, the sole surviving structure of the church demolished post-quake, and the Christchurch Boys’ High Memorial Shrine, which commemorates 142 former students who died in World War I.

There are guided walks, special speaker events and a range of tours and activities for all ages.

Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger said the council was proud to support the festival. “By getting behind closed doors and up close to a variety of spaces, we discover some truly marvellous places,” he said.

Buildings are open at different times across the weekend and some require advance bookings and tickets.

Visitors are encouraged to study the programme and create their own itinerary of highlights to view.

“Te Pūtahi thanks all our generous building partners and contributors for welcoming everyone to explore these special works of architecture and public spaces,” Halliday said.

Visit openchch.nz for bookings and the schedule.