Open House Melbourne 2020 | Online

It's Open House Melbourne - but not as you know it.

The thirteenth Open House Melbourne will present the largest collection of virtual tours in Australia, enabling access to over 50 buildings from the comfort of your own home.

In the lead-up to the Weekend announced for the 25 + 26 July, digitising these significant spaces in a time where physical movement, social engagement and building access is limited, provides us all with an exciting opportunity to celebrate our city and explore it like never before.

Open House Melbourne Online

The Open House Melbourne 2020 program will engage audiences in web-based architectural and design focused events leading up to a hive of online activity during the Open House Weekend, 25 + 26 July. The program will be accessible anywhere, by anyone with an internet connection and the majority of events will be available free of charge.

Open House Melbourne features over 200 properties including new buildings, plus a host of tours, talks, exhibitions and film screenings for one of the city's biggest celebrations of architecture.

Since 2008, Open House Melbourne has facilitated more than 900,000 visits to 934 sites across Melbourne, enabling 229,660 people to explore and celebrate their city.

www.openhousemelbourne.org

broadsheet.com.au says..

Tour more than 50 remarkable Melbourne buildings (virtually), including the historic Parliament House, a recently restored mid-1880s gem, and a privately-owned house that doubles as a contemporary art museum. Plus, live music in a striking former explosives store.

In a pre-coronavirus world, Open House welcomed Melburnians into normally closed-off houses, offices and businesses around the city. But, in light of the pandemic, its 13th instalment will look a little different.

You'll be able to skip the physical queues this year - the entire program of free design and architecture events is going virtual.

Iconic Melbourne buildings were captured using cutting-edge VR technology and there'll be more than 50 virtual building tours, which will be accessible from July 16 to August 31.

Walk the hallways of Victoria's historic Parliament House, and - on Facebook Live - experience the lowering of the grand chandelier in Queens Hall, and step onto the roof overlooking Spring Street (where Members of Parliament work).

Another highlight is Carlton's Trades Hall, one of the oldest continuously active union buildings in the world. You'll gain (virtual) access to the Old Council Chambers for the first time since they underwent conversation works to restore their mid-1880s glory.

You can also explore all 6500 square metres of Melbourne's new cross-disciplinary creative hub, Collingwood Yards (with a sneak peek of a soon-to-open rooftop bar); Lyon Housemuseum, a striking privately-owned house that doubles as a contemporary art museum; and Salter House, a concrete-brick cottage originally designed in 1924 by renowned architect Walter Burley Griffin (who also designed the Capitol Theatre).

On Saturday and Sunday July 25 and 26, there'll be a series of live-streamed tours, panels and Q&As with some of the city's best designers and architects, paying particular attention to the environmental impacts designing Covid-safe spaces.

Plus, as part of the Merge program, five local musicians will perform at five Open House spaces across Melbourne (including Jack's Magazine, an intriguing former explosives store by the banks of the Maribyrnong River).

Source: Open House Melbourne
by TOMAS TELEGRAMMA | broadsheet.com.au

Find the full program and more information here