Overview
Calling all architecture fans, folks keen to explore another side of Brisbane and just anyone who likes to peek behind closed doors. Open House Brisbane has something for all three when it returns for 2018 — showcasing the city's buildings and structures, letting you peer beyond their facades, and even welcoming you into nooks and crannies that aren't usually available to the public.
Marking its ninth year in Brisbane, the event will feature 114 buildings across the weekend of October 13–14, spanning places that you probably walk past every day, spots you've always wondered about and everything in between. They include the Peters Ice Cream Factory, Boggo Road Gaol and the homes inside Indooroopilly's Walter Taylor Bridge, plus the Fort Lytton Military Precinct, Archerfield Airport and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
A selection of architecturally distinctive residential buildings also feature, if you'd like a tour of other people's houses. Some of them even won gongs at this year's prestigious Houses Awards, like the greenery-filled Terrarium House — and many require bookings, so planning ahead is recommended.
2018's lineup also features a number of spaces that are new to the program, such as The Tivoli, Breakfast Creek Hotel, Woolloongabba's new Eden Lane, the Mt Crosby Pumping Station, Brisbane Powerhouse, Cloudland and the Empire Hotel. Fancy a wander in the yet-to-be-completed 90-storey Brisbane Skytower in Margaret Street — or Queen Street's luxe new 40-storey Spire Residences? They're on the bill.
Open House Brisbane isn't just about walking through spaces, whether you mosey at your own leisure or take a guided tour. It also boasts a program of talks and events running from September 20. New this year is a special after-dark section, which takes place between October 2–13, complete with everything from history workshops in the Old Windmill Tower to a screening of Jaws 2 at the Spring Hill Baths.
Brisbane Open House runs over October 13 and 14 at a variety of places around Brisbane. For the full program, head to brisbaneopenhouse.com.au.