Open House Melbourne

Open House Melbourne – held in July every year – is much more than the chance to stickybeak at some of Melbourne's most fascinating buildings (although that's a pretty huge drawcard, to be honest). It's also an opportunity to reflect on the role that design has played in the evolution of our city, to glimpse what Melbourne may become in the future, and to consider the significance of our heritage and what we can do to protect it.

But this year the weekend is going to look very different, with an entirely digital program to give you a glimpse behind the scenes at some of Melbourne's most impressive buildings. There will be virtual building tours of places like Trades Hall, Collingwood Yards, Parliament House, the Melbourne School of Design's Glyn Davis Building, FAB9 Makerspace, Lyon Housemuseum and the Citylink Traffic Control Room among several others.  

For anyone who hasn't yet had the opportunity to explore the opulence of the Capitol since it reopened last year, Open House Melbourne is also running a free live tour with one of the architects. The tour is even promising to share with virtual audiences parts of the Capitol that you wouldn't see on an IRL tour – tune in at 11am on Saturday, July 25 if you're keen (you will need to register for free).

But it's not all about stickybeaking this year. Open House will also include livestreamed talks and presentations, where heritage and architecture experts will talk about design, the urban environment and Victoria's rich architectural history. 

The full digital program will be revealed soon. Here's hoping we can return to IRL visits to some of Melbourne's off-limits area in 2021.