With so much on choice over three days (May 3rd–5th), Dan Sullivan (Common Architecture) provides his picks from this year’s festival presented by Te Pūtahi Centre for Architecture and City Making.

For more information and the full programme, see openchch.nz

Marian College

Experience the successful adaptation and reworking of the former Foodstuffs distribution centre warehouse complex into the Catholic girls’ school of Marian College. This recently completed project by Sheppard & Rout utilises the existing warehouse structure and fabric to re-house the displaced school from their previous damaged campus following the Canterbury earthquakes.

Housed under warehouse roofing, the almost 10,000 square meter campus includes 26 classrooms, a gymnasium, multi-use indoor and outdoor courts and sports fields, and a performing arts theatre.

The intimate chapel is a truly special space, with its star-lit ceiling representing the night sky as experienced on the day the school was first opened in 1982. A real gem of a building.

Open Sat 4 May, 10 am–2 pm with last entry at 1.30 pm. Be prepared to queue.

College House (University of Canterbury Hall of Residence)

Designed by Warren and Mahoney (1964–67) with restoration and alterations completed by Wilkie and Bruce in 2022, the building was noted by Sir Miles Warren as the practice’s best building.

College House achieves more than just dormitory accommodation — it provides a wider sense of community within the campus. A wonderful example of brutal Modernism referencing Gothic Revival architecture: white concrete block, exposed béton brut concrete beams and split reverse gables carefully assembled around formal grassed quads.

While at the campus, take time to also explore other great examples of award winning architecture. Join architect Patrick Clifford for a tour of the visually striking and much loved and awarded Erskine Building designed by Architectus, Cook Hitchcock Sargisson, and Royal Associates in 1994 (also a 2023 Enduring Architecture Award recipient). Think Louis Kahn’s Salk Institute meets Christchurch Modernism ideals.

Four buildings on the Ilam Campus with be open Sunday 5 May, 11 am–2 pm.

The Clock Tower at Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora

Very few buildings say ‘Christchurch’ and speak to the rich architectural heritage of our city like the Gothic Revival Arts Centre complex.

The collection of Historic Places Category 1 Listed Gothic Revival buildings originally used by Canterbury University College, Christchurch Boys’ High and Christchurch Girls’ High, now form the city’s cultural hub for the arts and creativity.

Top pick: Benjamin Mountford’s Clock Tower — the first building specifically designed for a university in Aotearoa — completed onsite in 1877. Take advantage of the audio tour to learn how colonial values were reflected and integrated into the design of the tower.

Substantially strengthened and repaired following the Canterbury earthquakes, the 22 heritage buildings within the greater complex can be enjoyed as a collection. The spaces between the buildings that complete the quadrantals and access ways provide more enjoyment in all the nooks and crannies. Be sure to scout out the latest contemporary insertion — the colourful Arts Centre Bridge by Warren and Mahoney.

No city has such a collection of high-quality and well-preserved Gothic Revival buildings in the world; Well worth spending a day exploring.

Open Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 May 10 am–5 pm.

Tūranga

One of Ōtautahi’s most significant and newest public buildings on offer, the award-winning Tūranga was completed by Architectus, Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, with Ngāi Tūāhuriri and Matapopore in 2018.

Embodying the concept as a repository of knowledge while also expressing the notion of people and place, this building contributes to the completion of the square and public realm of the central city. A wonderful example of a large-scale public building activating the city centre intrinsically, incorporating a rich tapestry of local cultural narratives.

Explore the building, and make use of the numerous activities on offer such as the engineering tour, laser-etching workshop and youth speaker event New Foundations, or join the sketch tour exploring the work of Christchurch’s influential 20th-century architects Cecil Wood.

A brilliant example of successful design collaboration between local and international architects and local iwi.

Open Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 May, 10 am–5 pm.

Wide selection of private residential houses

If you’re a fan of modernist domestic architecture you’re in luck as this year’s collection of private dwellings are particularly strong examples of this genre.

Honest use of materials, spaces focused on function and simple and rational design solutions are clearly evident in architect George Lucking’s family house, the Athfield-designed Jones House and the more recent RHR house by Three Sixty Architecture.

Be sure to visit Korako Whānau Papakāinga: intergenerational living and housing on ancestral land located at Rapaki Papakainga by Royal Associates Architects  - a chance to experience how kaupapa Māori concepts can influence modern concepts of living in domestic design.

Hurry, bookings are essential and expected to book out ahead of time.