Sydney Open returns for 2017

Sydney’s biggest open building event, Sydney Open, returns for its 13th year on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 November 2017, unlocking the doors to more than 70 of the city’s most historic and architecturally inspiring buildings and spaces usually not accessible to the general public.

Presented by Sydney Living Museums, Sydney Open 2017 offers visitors a behind-the-scenes look at some of the city’s most loved and hidden architectural gems across the CBD as well as this year’s focus, the historical and industrial areas extending from Central and Redfern to Eveleigh.

Mark Goggin, Executive Director, Sydney Living Museums noted that since its first year in 1997, Sydney Open has attracted over 70,000 visitors to 415 buildings across the city.

“Sydney Open has grown from strength to strength, and since it became an annual event in 2014, our audience has increased by over 40 percent. It’s always so impressive to see how many Sydneysiders and visitors embrace this weekend, taking up the opportunity to engage, appreciate and better understand this city’s diverse and beautiful architectural heritage and stories of our city.”

With a broad program of buildings from places of historic and cultural architectural importance to award-winning contemporary buildings, sacred, commercial and industrial spaces, Sydney Open is a celebration of great architecture.

The main program on Sunday 5 November will feature a broad and diverse selection of buildings and spaces. New to 2017 are the recently finished Grimshaw-designed, 333 George Street and PTW Architects’ new offices in the Renzo Piano-designed Aurora Place.

They will be joined by long-standing favourites including the late-20th-century brutalist Sydney Masonic Centre (1974, tower 2004), the Harry Seidler-designed Grosvenor Place (1988), the earliest surviving synagogue in Sydney, The Great Synagogue (1878), the award-winning Beaux-Arts revivalist-style building at 50 Martin Place and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Hyde Park Barracks (1817-19).

Across Redfern and Eveleigh visitors will be able to explore heritage sites throughout the Australian Technology Park (including Bays 1 & 2 of the Locomotive Workshop building) and Carriageworks, where an inspired adaptive reuse of this site by architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer in 2006 saw the rail yards become home to the contemporary multi-arts space.

The Focus Tour program on Saturday 4 November will give visitors access to some of Sydney’s most in-demand spaces including the St James Tunnels, Central Station Clock Tower and St James’ Church Bell Tower, inside the dome of the Queen Victoria Building and behind-the-scenes tours of the Sydney Opera House. Plus this year’s Golden Ticket competition is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to explore the ever popular and fascinating Tank Stream.

Sydney Open tickets will go on sale on 21 September, with a Member pre-sale from 18 September. For further information visit slm.is/open.