With 51 buildings of different ages, styles and uses open for exploration and a whole host of activities on offer — from all ages workshops to expert tours — the 2025 festival brings people together for another vibrant celebration of architecture and Ōtautahi.

While the full programme is under wraps until 20 March, the team at Te Pūtahi, the organisation behind Open Christchurch, have pulled together some top sneak peaks for the design community.

Get the dates in your diary and sign up to their mailing list for updates.

Sneak peeks:

This year’s festival celebrates the work of Benjamin Mountfort, the pre-eminent exponent of the Gothic Revival Style, in recognition of the bicentenary of his birth. Get up close to a range of his works over the weekend.

Open Christchurch also holds the microscope to design excellence in performance spaces. Be some of the first to experience the new Court Theatre from the inside, designed by Athfield Architects in collaboration with English practice Haworth Tompkins. Explore a variety of other spaces, from the Isaac Theatre Royal to The Piano.

Extra for experts:

Take a tour led by leading acoustic experts and learn about designing for sound quality.

Discover Mountfort’s original drawings at the Macmillan Brown Library with pre-eminent expert and architectural historian Dr Ian Lochhead or take a guided walk hosted by Ian that takes in many of Mountfort’s Gothic Revival works.

Something different:

Enjoy a garden design talk with landscape architect Robert Watson at the Warren and Mahoney Christchurch Modern masterpiece, 65 Cambridge Terrace. Hear more about how Sir Miles understood the space, texture and form of the garden as part of the architecture.

Learn more about the festival here.