Open Christchurch, the city’s annual festival of architectural excellence, has 50 buildings on this year’s programme. An exhibition at Christchurch Art Gallery complements the festival’s focus.

Calling all design geeks, you have two opportunities coming up to reflect on the built environment – the urban, suburban and rural architecture, both grand and mundane, that forms the physical backdrop to our daily lives.

The first is Open Christchurch, the city’s annual festival of architectural excellence in which buildings city-wide open their doors to the public. This year’s programme lists 50 buildings you can visit over the weekend of 3 – 5 May. All tours are free but some require a booking due to limited numbers.

Highlights for many will be opportunities to tour the site of the new Court Theatre building, on the corner of Colombo and Gloucester streets, and to get behind the security fence at Christ Church Cathedral.

A theme of this year’s festival is a celebration of building reuse and there are some fine examples of this in post-quake Christchurch, including Marian College’s new home in a former supermarket distribution centre, and the former MED Converter Station and Substation Building now home to a cluster of modern office spaces.

Residential properties are also part of the programme. These include the Lucking House, designed by George Lucking in 1951 and with additions in 2023 by Common Architecture.

Later in the month, at Christchurch Art Gallery, the exhibition From Here on the Ground opens to the public. Curated from the gallery’s collection as well as works in private and public hands, the exhibition is a survey of 20th-century Aotearoa New Zealand works that explore urban, suburban and industrial landscapes. Subject matters range from cityscapes to backyards, factories and remote railway stops.

Doris Lusk’s work City Gasworks, Christchurch 1958 captures a time when coal was king and its associated structures had the grandeur of cathedrals. Other artists to feature include Rita Angus, Buster Black, Russell Clark, Ivy Fife, Rhona Haszard, Louise Henderson, Roland Hipkins, Christopher Perkins, Juliet Peter and Bill Sutton.

Open Christchurch, venues city-wide, 3 – 5 May
openchch.nz

From Here on the Ground, Christchurch Art Gallery, 18 May – 17 November
christchurchartgallery.org.nz