Building lovers and architecture fans! Open Christchurch is back in May. It is on from Friday 1 May to Sunday 3 May. There will be 52 open buildings (including Tūranga), 6 guided walks, and a range of special activities (from expert talks and tours to workshops).
You can just turn up for most of the tours and activities, but book now for any sessions that require booking - some are already booked out!
What's on at Tūranga
Tūranga is home to the Open Christchurch Info Desk at He Hononga | Connection, Ground Floor from 10am to 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday. For the duration of the festival, wonderful Open Christchurch volunteers will be on hand at the Info Desk to answer any questions, help you plan your festival experience and support with bookings.
From 10am to 5pm on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 May, you can do all these, for free at Tūranga:
- Pick up an Open Christchurch Architecture Hunt zine from the Info Desk
- Grab some Building Style colouring in sheets at the Info Desk
- Check out the Ōtautahi in Bricks exhibition
- Drop in for some Imagination Station activities
- Take an audio tour
Ōtautahi in Bricks exhibition
Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 May, 10am to 5pm
Tautoru / TSB Space, Hapori | Community, Level 1
With LUG 4×2, the NZ Lego User Group
Some of Ōtautahi’s most talented LEGO builders have come together for a unique exhibition dedicated to our city’s architecture: Christchurch icons have been recreated in miniature and in incredible detail using LEGO bricks! The Imagination Station will be running all-ages activities over the weekend for an interactive experience.
Imagination Station Lego activities at Tūranga
Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 May, 10am to 5pm
Enjoy some all-ages LEGO activities running in conjunction with the Ōtautahi in Bricks Exhibit. From soft bricks and mosaic making to creative building tables and Children’s University challenges, there is something on offer for everyone. All ages.
Wikipedia Workshop at Tūranga
Sunday 3 May 2pm to 4.30pm
With Architecture + Women
Come help address gender disparities in the digital world through Wikipedia. Women make up only 20% of the biographies on Wikipedia and since 2022, the New Zealand Women in Architecture Wikiproject has been working to document and celebrate the incredible mahi by women and non-binary people in architecture.
Find out more
Free, bookings essential
More about Tūranga's architecture
- Listen to an audio tour of Tūranga about the building's cultural narrative with Joseph Hullen and Carsten Auer.
- Find out more about Tūranga's architecture and the artworks and cultural narrative at its heart.
Reflection Lounge at the Common Room
Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre
Saturday 2 May 10am to 4pm
Visit the Reflection Lounge with librarian Katie Bowron.
Browse through a carefully curated selection of architectural books and creative media. Open up a book and leaf through some pages; pick up a pencil and sketch out your thoughts; slip on some headphones and drift through an audiobook or doco — relax, reflect and reimagine your city. There is something for all ages.
You can:
- Browse a carefully curated selection of books that focus on Architecture and Design in Ōtautahi and Aotearoa. These will include Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children's and Graphic Novel titles
- Watch an architecturally themed documentary
- Listen to an audiobook
- Explore the work of Gothic Revival architect Benjamin Mountfort by adapting templates into simple ink drawings. We'll also have the iPad Pros and Apple pencils available for those who would like to try creating some digital art
- Learn about the creative programmes and technology the library offers
- Join the library - then you can access our eResources from home, visit the library to borrow the books, and use creative resources
100 years of libraries
This year, the Open Christchurch programme celebrates over 100 years of design excellence in libraries. Explore them to consider how the style, layout and materials of the buildings have changed apace with technological advances, our reading practices and how we use libraries. As well as visiting Tūranga, you can see:
Gothic Revival Central Library
Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre
Saturday 2 May 10am to 4pm (drop in)
ARCHITECTS: Collins and Harman, 1916; restoration: Warren and Mahoney, 2017
The Library occupies centre stage on the Canterbury College campus. Its position created two Oxbridge style quadrangles, just as Hurst Seager’s master plan of the campus intended. Collins & Harman built it in Gothic Revival style with a twist of Tudor: check out the arched windows, decorative elements and Tudor flowers. Eventually proving inadequate for the 300,000 strong book collection, it was dubbed an architectural gem but an impossible library.
Find out more
St Martins Community Centre and St Martins Library architecture tours
Sunday 3 May
St Martins Community Centre: Sunday 3 May 1pm to 4pm
Library Architecture tours Sunday 3 May 2pm and 3pm
With Matthew Charles, Plus Architecture
Discover how this community hub weaves history, healing and everyday life together. From recycled bricks acknowledging earthquake loss to the residential scale that makes it feel like home, learn how the centre creates connection in its neighbourhood.
Find out more
Free, bookings essential for library architecture tours
Redcliffs Village Library
Sunday 3 May 1pm to 4pm (drop in)
ARCHITECTS: Young Architects, 2017
The simple gable form suggests an open book; its friendly scale makes for a welcoming volunteer library that celebrates its surroundings. The red palette echoes the cliffs of the area while the translucent polycarbonate street-facing wall allows the library to glow like a lantern – or beacon of knowledge and community – at night. Learn more from knowledgeable volunteers.
Find out more
More about Open Christchurch
Run by Te Pūtahi Centre for Architecture and City Making, Open Christchurch celebrates Christchurch’s most exceptional architecture by opening buildings to the public for free and offers people the opportunity to connect with their city by discovering new spaces or getting up close to the buildings they love.
- Visit the Open Christchurch website
- Like Open Christchurch on Facebook
- Follow Open Christchurch on Instagram
- Open Christchurch audio tours
Architecture resources
Check our page highlighting all things architecture.
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