Open Christchurch

Open Christchurch Annual festival of architecture in Ōtautahi Chch. For one weekend only, experience great buildings

Te Pūtahi is exploring interest in a part-time Communications & Marketing role to support the promotion of Open Christch...
29/09/2026

Te Pūtahi is exploring interest in a part-time Communications & Marketing role to support the promotion of Open Christchurch 2027 with a focus on driving digital communications and online marketing.

One weekend each May, around 50 of Christchurch's best buildings open their doors, last year more than 45,000 people walked through them. That's Open Christchurch, and it's the biggest architecture festival in the country.

It takes a team to make it happen. If you love connecting people and want to play a key role in celebrating our city’s built environment, then this is the team for you!
We're looking for that special someone to join our awesome team. There is room for the right person to develop into leading communications and marketing management for Open Christchurch 2028 and beyond.

Expressions of interest close 11 October 2026.

See the news section of our website for full details - link in comment below. Or email [email protected]

These are just some of the many generous people who make what we do at Te Pūtahi and Open Christchurch not just possible...
17/06/2026

These are just some of the many generous people who make what we do at Te Pūtahi and Open Christchurch not just possible, but replete with a sense of collaboration and togetherness.

Volunteers donate their skills, knowledge and time and Te Wiki Tūao ā-Motu National Volunteer Week is the time to celebrate these fine folk.

The 2026 theme is Your Year to Volunteer – Tōu tau ki te tūao. It is both an acknowledgement of all those currently volunteering and an invitation for others to collaborate. Please do reach out if you would like to be a part of what we do.
Volunteering New Zealand
Photos by Peanut Productions Photography and Sarah Rowlands Photography

We're calling on all architecture fans, design professionals, building custodians and Ōtautahi lovers to nominate buildi...
09/06/2026

We're calling on all architecture fans, design professionals, building custodians and Ōtautahi lovers to nominate buildings that they would love to see in Open Christchurch 2027, 30 April - 2 May.

This is your chance to get spaces you hold dear or want to explore on our long list for consideration for the 2027 festival.

Here are some examples of previous buildings that were nominated and selected for Open Christchurch.

Nominations close 14 July.

Head to openchch.nz for all the info.

Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings (Benjamin Mountfort, 1858-65), Open ChCh 2023 and Open ChCh 2025, photo by Peanut Productions
Baby House (pseudonym 'Funtrik Pony', 2024), Open ChCh 2026, photo by Sarah Rowlands
The Court Theatre (Athfield Architects and Haworth Tompkins, 2025), OC25, photo by Baptiste Marconnet
Green Family Home (Michael O’Sullivan / Bull O’Sullivan Architecture, 2017-2020), Open ChCh 2021, photo supplied by the Green Family
Nuli’s House (Field Studio of Architecture & Urbanism, 2025), Open ChCh 2026, photo by Sarah Rowlands
Marian College (Sheppard & Rout Architects, 2023), Open ChCh 2024, photo by Sarah Rowlands
Korako Whānau Papakāinga (Royal Associates Architects, 2023), Open ChCh 2024 and Open ChCh 2025, photo by Sarah Rowlands
Te Aratai College (Architectus, 2022), Open ChCh 2023, photo by Sarah Rowlands

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03/06/2026

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Save the date for Open Christchurch 2027!Enjoyed exploring Ōtautahi architecture this year?Mark your calendars, we'll be...
22/05/2026

Save the date for Open Christchurch 2027!

Enjoyed exploring Ōtautahi architecture this year?
Mark your calendars, we'll be back 30 April - 2 May 2027 with a fresh programme sure to delight you, your friends and your whānau 💛

07/05/2026

Fill in our survey and go into the draw to win.

Did you attend Open Christchurch 2026 on 1-3 May? We want to hear from you! Fill in our survey by 12pm Wednesday 13 May and go into the draw to win a night at the gorgeous Observatory Hotel. See the link below.

From the brand new stadium to the heritage Lyttelton Timeball Station, from learning about the central city’s designed c...
03/05/2026

From the brand new stadium to the heritage Lyttelton Timeball Station, from learning about the central city’s designed cultural and living landscapes to the delight of lego scale models of iconic Christchurch buildings, Open Christchurch 2026 has served up a range of architectural delights.

The city has been alive with thousands out and about experiencing Ōtautahi Christchurch’s best buildings and designed spaces this weekend.

A massive thank you to all our building partners, experts, tour guides and speakers for helping us get to know the city better through architecture; to the funders and sponsors for making the festival possible; to the incredible volunteers - you are the welcoming face of the festival. And to you, the attendees, for coming along to celebrate Ōtautahi Christchurch.

We'll be back on 30 April to 2 May 2027 put it in your calendars!

In the meantime, fill out our festival survey below and be in with a chance to win!

1 & 2. Sugarloaf Transmission Tower (Ministry of Works, 1965), photo by Sarah Rowlands Photography

3. Geordie Shaw (Shaw & Shaw Architects) leading tour of Princess Margaret Hospital (Manson, Seward & Stanton, 1959), photo by Peanut Productions

4. Nurses’ Memorial Chapel (Collins and Harman, 1927; restoration: (Tony Ussher Architect, 2018), photo by Sarah Rowlands

5. Norris Strawbale House (Elizabeth Guthrey, Design & Make Architects, 2026), photo by Sarah Rowlands

6. LUG 4/2’s Ōtautahi in Bricks at Tūranga, photo by Peanut Productions

7. Dr Ann McEwan speaking at Style-ish, photo by Peanut Productions

8. Cartwright Family Home (Bull/O'Sullivan Architecture Ltd, 2019), photo by Peanut Productions

9 & 10. One New Zealand Stadium (Warren & Mahoney and Populous, 2026), photo by Sarah Rowlands

It’s another stunning day for some excellent architecture! Here are our suggestions for you:⏰ Head to Timeball Station i...
02/05/2026

It’s another stunning day for some excellent architecture!

Here are our suggestions for you:
⏰ Head to Timeball Station in Lyttelton for fabulous views over the port and chat to experts about the post-quake rebuild (11am-3pm)
🎓 Explore Te Raekura Redcliffs School - a school that addresses its coastal location and expresses the cultural history of Redcliffs (10am-2pm)
📭 Spend time at heritage icon with a gorgeous contemporary addition at Sumner Post Office (12-4pm)
📡 Visit Trimble Headquarters (12-4pm) and join a mini-talk on timber engineering at 1.30, 2.30 or 3.30pm and experience groundbreaking tech with the team.
📖 Head inside the community hub St Martins Community Centre (1-4pm) and book in a for free architecture at 2pm to learn more.

Timeball Station (Thomas Walter Crane, 1876), photo by Frank Visser

Sumner Post Office (W. H. Trengrove, 1938; AW Architects; 2024), photo by Sarah Rowlands

Te Raekura Redcliffs School (Tennent Brown Architects, 2020), photo by Andy Spain

Redcliffs Village Library (Young Architects, 2018), photo by by Dennis Radermacher

Trimble Headquarters (Opus International, now WSP, 2014 ), photo by John Doogan

St Martins Community Centre (Plus Architecture, 2016), photo by Dennis Radermacher

It is a beautiful day here in Ōtautahi! What better way to spend it than exploring the city's architecture. Not sure wha...
01/05/2026

It is a beautiful day here in Ōtautahi! What better way to spend it than exploring the city's architecture. Not sure what to do? Here are the buildings that are open as part of Open Christchurch today only. All you need to do is turn up at the timetabled hours:

🪴 All of 65 Cambridge Tce (only the flat and garden open on Sunday) - check out the original office building of Ōtautahi’s most famous architectural partnership (10am-4pm) and visit the Objectspace Gallery exhibition in Sir Miles Warren’s former flat
⛪️ Knox Church and Knox Church Parish Hall - a range of architectural styles at one stop. You cannot tell a building by its exterior! (Open 12-4pm)
⭐️ The playfully postmodern First Church of Christ Scientist - full of delights (open 12-4pm)
💗 The iconic Santa Barbara on Victoria St (11am-4pm)
🏗️ Top it all off with a walk through the unique and joyful commercial building, 200 High Street (1-4pm).

See our website for all the details - there is something on offer for everyone.

Knox Parish Hall (Pascoe & Linton, 1964; refurbishment: Wilkie + Bruce, 1993), photo by Peanut Productions

Knox Church (Robert & Edward England, 1902; Wilkie & Bruce Architects, 2014), photo by Dennis Radermacher

Santa Barbara (H. Francis Willis, c.1938), photo by Jamie Armstrong

200 High Street (AW Architects, 2025), photo by Sarah Rowlands

First Church of Christ Scientist (Warren & Mahoney, 1991), photo by Sarah Rowlands

65 Cambridge Terrace (Warren & Mahoney, 1962 & 1979), photo by Peanut Productions

We are thrilled to announce that the wonderful 76 Small Rooms team are at Open Christchurch this weekend and taking over...
01/05/2026

We are thrilled to announce that the wonderful 76 Small Rooms team are at Open Christchurch this weekend and taking over our Instagram account. Nau mai, haere mai!

The dynamic hosts of the podcast about architecture from Aotearoa New Zealand will be out and about exploring some of our finest buildings. Nau mai, haere mai, Jeremy Hansen, Natasha Markham, Mat Brown, and Richard Archbold (Arch)!

See them tonight at our opening event ‘I’d die happy once I saw that’ - head to openchch.nz for details.

Photo by Barry Tobin

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