Open House Melbourne 2019 Weekend program launched
Melbourne is our city and it’s set to open once again for the 12th annual Open House Melbourne 2019 Weekend on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th July.
The full Weekend program of over 200 tours and events is now live online here.
The program was launched last night at The Ian Potter Southbank Centre at the University of Melbourne’s Southbank Campus, a new highlight in this year’s program as the new home of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.
There are 73 new sites to explore and an expanded footprint into Melton, Narre Warren, Box Hill and Werribee along with nine new buildings to see in Williamstown, Spotswood, Newport and Altona thanks to new precinct partner, City of Hobson’s Bay.
The program also celebrates Open House Melbourne’s month of architecture throughout July with events such as keynote exhibition Urban Tactility, a playful and sensory installation of tactile indicators for people with low vision or blindness by OoPLA architects and new inclusivity and access partner Cushman & Wakefield, being on show at Immigration Museum from 22 July.
With Melbourne currently undergoing radical growth and transformation, the Weekend offers a range of tours that delve deep into the changing fabric of the city. The West Gate Tunnel Project will end Melbourne’s reliance on the West Gate Bridge by building twin tunnels under Yarraville and new links to the port, CityLink and the CBD. Exclusive tours will explore West Gate Tunnel Project’s northern portal construction site on Saturday 27 July, taking in the project’s tunnel boring machines, a 22-metre deep launch shaft and massive rock and soil handling shed.
The Metro Tunnel will transform the way we travel to and from the suburbs. Join the Metro Tunnel team on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 July for a walking tour of the construction site for the new Parkville Station. Presented by the Cross Yarra Partnership and Rail Projects Victoria as part of the Metro Tunnel Creative Program, the new Parkville station will connect world-class education, health and research precinct to the rail network for the first time, and includes station entrances on the doorstep of the University of Melbourne and some of Victoria’s biggest hospitals.
For another perspective on what makes the city tick, tours will take place at some of Melbourne’s most iconic and delicious dining institutions including the stunning new renovations at St Kilda’s Hotel Esplanade and Prince Hotel.
On Sunday 28 July, The European Open House Tour will take visitors through Siglo, Melbourne Supper Club, Spring Street Grocer and The European with a look at what design aspects make these venues so ‘quintessentially Melbourne’. Just before the Weekend on Tuesday 23 July, join Phillip Schemnitz, the architect behind some of Melbourne’s most-loved drinking destinations – Cookie, Toff, Magic: Behind Hospitality Icons – and hear about the 13-year-long architect-client collaboration that shaped these venues.
For mid-century design buffs, two buildings by Australia’s most influential architect Robin Boyd will open. To celebrate Robin Boyd’s 100th anniversary of birth, visitors can tour mid-century gem Boyd House II, the architect’s greatest domestic architectural experiment and St George’s Anglican Church in East Ivanhoe, one of two Australian churches designed by the architect.
The majority of the program is free to take part in with no bookings necessary. For pre-booked tours though, mark the release dates in your diary so you don’t miss out, as many of the tours book out within hours. First release will go live on Friday 12th July at 8.30am until booked out. Second release will go live on Friday 19th July at 8.30am until booked out. A small booking fee of $5 applies to each tour.
If you want to get your hands on one of the ever-popular printed programs, the Open House Melbourne 2019 Printed Program will be available to purchase at all Readings locations, you can now also pre-order the printed program online.
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