Tasmania’s much-anticipated architecture and design festival, Open House Hobart, has returned for 2025 with an expanded vision and a renewed commitment to community and place.
A Festival Across Two Weekends
This year’s Open House program truly shines a spotlight on our region’s diverse built environment. The main Open House Hobart festivities will take place across the weekend of November 8 and 9, inviting locals and visitors alike to explore nipaluna/Hobart’s architectural wonders with over 100 buildings, activities, walking tours, and open practices included in the schedule. For the first time, Open House Southern Midlands will make its debut on the weekend of November 1 and 2, offering nearly 50 spaces and experiences focused on heritage, innovation, and storytelling that define the Southern Midlands.
Open Practice and Public Engagement
In 2025, Open House also introduces ‘Open Practice’—a rare opportunity for the public to visit Hobart’s architecture studios, connect informally with local architects, and discover the creative processes that shape our surroundings. Studios including Cumulus Studio, MANA, AKA Architects, Dock4, Maguire Devine, Room 11 and XSquared Architects are set to participate. The full list of participating practices and their locations is available on the Open House Hobart website.
Accessible and Inclusive for All
The Open House events remain free for everyone, with most buildings and tours requiring no bookings—simply browse the website, note the opening times, and arrive ready to explore. For those spaces that do require bookings, availability opens at 10 am on Wednesday 8 October, operated on a first in, best dressed basis, reflecting Tasmania’s unique welcoming spirit.
Celebrating Stories and Place
As Daniel Lane, President of the Tasmanian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, said at the launch event, “architecture and design is all around us, and for everyone. The Open House program allows first-hand access to these spaces, to learn more about the buildings and the place.” Jennifer Nichols, co-producer of Open House Hobart, amplified this message, highlighting that Open House is about stories, of those who have shaped our cities, towns and neighbourhoods, and those who continue to do so today. The festival fosters a vibrant public conversation on the value of good design, celebrating spaces that promote health, safety, sustainability and delight, and enabling meaningful dialogue around the future of Tasmania’s built environment.
Key Dates for 2025
Open House Southern Midlands: Saturday 1 + Sunday 2 November
Open House Hobart: Saturday 8 + Sunday 9 November
Bookings for select buildings and tours: open 10 am, Wednesday 8 October via openhousehobart.org/hobart/
‘Open Practice’: running between the two festival weekends