Popular Tasmanian architecture and design event Open House Hobart is back next month for a behind-the-scenes look at some of the city’s most intriguing buildings.

Open House Hobart 2024 will run over the weekend of November 9 and 10, with a dedicated ‘Day on the Domain’ on Sunday 3 November, featuring Government House and the abandoned Beaumaris Zoo.

Organised and run by the Tasmanian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, Open House Hobart is the local version of a global event first held in London in 1992 and now staged in more than 30 cities around the world. 

What’s on

This year’s program spans nearly 100 buildings, activities and walking tours around nipaluna/Hobart and beyond. It aims to give visitors the chance to see how others live, work and play, and see the city from a different angle.

Some of this year’s program highlights include guided walking tours of vintage signs, open studios, site visits of redevelopments in progress and drawing masterclasses.

Comedian, architecture enthusiast and IDEA 2022 Gala MC Tim Ross will be travelling to Hobart for ‘Architecture Is Ace’ on Friday 8 November. Described as ‘part slideshow, part stand-up comedy and part architecture talk’, this one-off show will see Ross tell stories anchored by his passion for architecture. 

On Saturday 9 November, architect Bronwen Jones is leading a walking tour of Hobart’s Old Colonial Georgian buildings to share some of the ideas behind these sandstone beauties.

If an off-grid cabin in Bruny Island is more your thing, a minimalist hideaway by Maguire and Devine Architects – designed with the brief of ‘a building as a piece of furniture with everything needed built in’ — will be open for viewing on the Saturday. 

Also on Bruny Island is Wardle Studio’s award-winning 2016 restoration of Captain Kelly’s Cottage, originally built in the 1830s. Attendees can explore this building and its spectacular views on Sunday 10 November.

Meanwhile, over two nights you can take a one-hour guided walking tour of Hobart after dark through the eyes of a lighting professional, courtesy of a group of people preserving Tasmania’s ‘heritage of dark skies’.

Plan your visit

While the event is free, and many buildings don’t require registration, bookings and paid tickets are required for some tours, events and buildings. 

View the full program and book from 12pm, Friday 11 October via the Open House website.

Above image and lead image of Captain Kelly’s Cottage designed by Wardle, photography by Nina Hamilton. Photography supplied by the Australian Institute of Architects.

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