3 Nov 2017

Associate Director Stewart Armstrong, an expert in heritage architecture with over 25 years’ experience, reflects on yet another fantastic Brisbane Open House and looks forward to the upcoming third annual Gold Coast Open House. 

Brisbane Open House (BOH) 2017 came to an official close last week with a very successful Sponsors Thank You Event held at the Treasury Hotel.

The festival unlocks our city by celebrating Brisbane’s architecture and offers free behind-the-scenes access to many fascinating buildings. This year’s BOH saw over 90 buildings of historic and modern architectural importance, including 30 buildings new to this year’s program, opened to the public on the weekend of 7-8 October 2017.

The program also included a number of special events including a Speaker Series, Children’s Program, Photography Competition, Made in Brisbane talks, walking tours, and concerts. Several Urbis staff took part in this year’s event, featuring as speakers, volunteering or simply visiting some of this year’s significant new additions, such as 1 William Street or the Goodstart early Learning Centre.

Outside Brisbane, it’s great to see that Queensland has one of the largest regional Open House programs in the world, with events held this year in Maryborough, Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast, Cairns and the Gold Coast – which is set to begin thei Saturday, 4 November.

Urbis is extremely proud to sponsor both Brisbane Open House and Gold Coast Open House again this year, and congratulates the many people involved that make these events such a great success.

This weekend’s Gold Coast Open House will unlock 40 buildings, places and spaces reflecting the architecture and urban design of the city, including hidden heritage gems, Commonwealth Games sports venues, and inspiring contemporary buildings. It too has lead-up events with Urbis’ Scott Richards speaking on the history of the Gold Coast high-rise at the Free Speaker Night.

So if you haven’t yet made any plans for this Saturday, head on down to the Gold Coast as there is so much more to this destination than great surf and sandy beaches. 

Stewart’s article was originally published on LinkedIn.