Brisbane Open House (BOH) is a free annual event which allows the public to discover the architecture, engineering and history in buildings and places in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. Selected buildings are open to the public with guided and self-guided tours encouraging visitors to explore Brisbane’s built environment. The event is organised by the

Queensland Government Architect The Queensland Government Architect is a position within the public service of Queensland, Australia with responsibility for the design of government buildings in Queensland. It was formerly known as the Queensland Colonial Architect. The position ...

, the Brisbane Development Association, and the

National Trust of Queensland National Trust of Queensland is a membership-based community organisation to "promote the natural, Indigenous and cultural heritage" of Queensland. It was founded in 1963. It is a member of the National Trust of Australia, which federates the ...

. It is supported by the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC, also known as Council) is the local government of the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. The largest local government in Australia by population, BCC's jurisdiction includes 2 ...

and a range of program and practice partners and friends of Brisbane Open House. Brisbane Open House is part of the ''Open House Worldwide'' annual cultural event.

History

The inaugural Brisbane Open House took place on 2 October 2010, and featured 20 buildings in the CBD and

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

. More than 12,000 people attended. In 2011 the event expanded to 30 buildings and included

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...

. The 2012 event featured 51 buildings and attracted 33,000 visitors. The 2013 event expanded to 71 buildings presented over a two-day weekend. The 2014 event featured 89 buildings.

2015

New buildings open to the general public for the first time were: *

Archerfield Airport Archerfield Airport is a leased federal airport located in Archerfield, Queensland, Archerfield, to the south of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. For some time, it was the primary airport in Brisbane, but it is now the secondary airport. During ...

Brisbane GPO The General Post Office (GPO) in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is a heritage-listed building located at 261 Queen Street. Originally constructed in 1872, it was extended through to Elizabeth Street in 1908. The GPO remains in use by the Aus ...

* Princess Theatre * Queensland Emergency Operations Centre

2016

The 2016 event expanded to 100 buildings with large number of new buildings open to the general public for the first time: * 480 Queen Street *

Brisbane Arts Theatre Brisbane Arts Theatre refers to an independent theatre company in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the oldest theatre companies in Brisbane, being established since 1936. The name historically also refers to the theatre building in ...

Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct is the main attraction of Fort Lytton National Park in Queensland, Australia. The Precinct contains historic Fort Lytton (a colonial coastal defence fort), and numerous other historic military buildings a ...

* Moreton Club *

Queensland State Archives The Queensland State Archives is the lead agency for public recordkeeping in Queensland, Australia. It is the custodian of the largest and most significant documentary heritage collection about Queensland. Established in 1959, Queensland Stat ...

Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium The Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium is located on the grounds of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens in the suburb of Mount Coot-tha, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The Planetarium was officially opened on 24 May 1978. The Planetarium is named af ...

* Wacol Military Museum *

Wolston House Wolston House is a heritage-listed museum and former homestead at 223 Grindle Road, Wacol, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1852 to 1860s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. It is no ...

2019

In 2019, the tenth anniversary, BOH attracted 80,000 visits across 119 sites.

2020-21

In 2020 and 2021 the impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

meant the planned 2020 and 2021 events had to be cancelled. Instead, Brisbane Open House created year-round offerings for smaller groups of participants.

2022

In 2022, Brisbane Open House partnered with Aria Property Group to celebrate the Fish Lane Arts Precinct by offering guided walking tours.

2024

For the 2024 event, BOH once agained open a range of buildings and spaces to the public, with a geo-focused program across the Brisbane CBD and New Farm, as well as the introduction of an inaugural Speaker Series.

Villages of Brisbane (VOB)

The inaugural VOB celebrated Sandgate and Shorncliffe where many local buildings and places were open to the public witha speaker series in the

Sandgate Town Hall Sandgate Town Hall is a heritage-listed town hall at 5 Brighton Road, Sandgate, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Thomas Ramsay Hall and built from 1911 to 1912 by John Gemmell. It was added to the Queensland Heritag ...

, as well as a number of walking tours. In 2023, the Iconic Precinct showcased the heritage gems and state-of-the-art medical labs of Herston. In 2024, the inner-city suburb of

New Farm New Farm is an inner northern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , New Farm had a population of 12,197 people. Geography The suburb is located 2 kilometres east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the ...

was celebrated as the Village of Brisbane.

Participating buildings

References

External links

Brisbane Open House HomepageList of buildings open in 2012
{{coord missing, Queensland Doors Open Days Tourist attractions in Brisbane Culture of Brisbane Annual events in Brisbane Recurring events established in 2010 October 2010 establishments in Australia