Image courtesy Sydney Architecture Festival.

Sydney Architecture Festival has announced this year’s jam-packed four-day program. The festival, which runs from Friday 2 October until Monday 5 October, features a number of design and architecture inspired activities across various inner Sydney locations.

It will be the first time in the festival’s nine-year history that a directorship approach has been implemented with Archrival, a Sydney-based collective of young designers, and JOC Consulting taking the reigns as this year’s festival directors.

“Architecture is a driver for city lifestyles to become more sustainable, connected and liveable. We wanted the festival to capture this potential and broadcast it to a city undergoing massive change,” says Archrival co-founder, Claire McCaughan.

The previously 10-day long program has a new condensed four-day format; a long weekend of talks, short films, guided tours, and food and music experiences.  There will be a mix of free to the public and ticketed events.

Three specially curated SAF tours will be held on the Sunday, including a rare and exciting opportunity to view inside the homes of high-profile architects Brian Zulaikha, Matthew Pullinger, Virginia Kerridge and Amelia Holliday, who will shed light on their personal design secrets.

Eoghan Lewis, founder of Sydney Architecture, will lead two additional inner-city tours. Transformation and Regeneration of the Inner-City Suburbs will be an architectural exploration of working-class suburbs Redfern, Surry Hills, Ultimo and Chippendale. The City – What next? tour, which traces a route from Circular Quay to Haymarket, will concentrate on a crop of recently completely and upcoming contemporary architectural gems that are redefining the city.

“We use architecture to open up other conversations; urban, political, social, cultural and ecological as we reveal the patters and forces shaping Sydney,” says Lewis.

The 2015 festival seeks to engage actively with social media, and each day has a dedicated hashtag: #DesignSecrets, #TheGoods, #NewCity and #GoGlobal.

“The festival will open the door of some of Sydney’s secrets, reveal the ideas behind the bold new buildings and take you on an intimate stroll through the streets to explain the ideas of how we are, and how we can together, make this city great,” says NSW chapter president of the Australian Institute of Architects, Shaun Carter.

www.sydneyarchitecturefestival.org