(Interior Reserve Bank of Australia © Peter Tabor)

Australia’s premier open building event, SYDNEY OPEN, returns on 4 and 5 November 2017.

Sydney’s biggest open building event, Sydney Open, returns for its 13th year unlocking the doors to more than 70 of the city’s most historic and architecturally inspiring buildings and spaces usually not accessible to the general public.

(Taking in Sydney Harbour from Ernst & Young Centre, © James Horan for Sydney Living Museums)

Presented by Sydney Living Museums, Sydney Open 2017 offers visitors a behind-the-scenes look at some of the city’s most loved and hidden architectural gems across the CBD as well as this year’s focus, the historical and industrial areas extending from Central and Redfern to Eveleigh.

(50 Martin Place © James Horan for Sydney Living Museums)

With a broad program of buildings from places of historic and cultural architectural importance to award-winning contemporary buildings, sacred, commercial and industrial spaces, Sydney Open is a celebration of great architecture.

The main program on Sunday 5 November will feature a broad and diverse selection of buildings and spaces. New to 2017 are the recently finished Grimshaw-designed, 333 George Street and PTW Architects’ new offices in the Renzo Piano-designed Aurora Place.

They will be joined by long-standing favourites including the late-20th-century brutalist Sydney Masonic Centre (1974, tower 2004), the Harry Seidler-designed Grosvenor Place (1988), the earliest surviving synagogue in Sydney, The Great Synagogue (1878), the award-winning Beaux-Arts revivalist-style building at 50 Martin Place and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Hyde Park Barracks (1817-19).

 (Mortuary Station, © Simon Freeman)

Across Redfern and Eveleigh visitors will be able to explore heritage sites throughout the Australian Technology Park (including Bays 1&2 of the Locomotive Workshop building) and Carriageworks, where an inspired adaptive reuse of this site by architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer in 2006 saw the rail yards become home to the contemporary multi-arts space.

The Focus Tour program on Saturday 4 November will give visitors access to some of Sydney’s most in-demand spaces including the St James Tunnels, Central Station Clock Tower and St James’ Church Bell Tower, inside the dome of the Queen Victoria Building and behind-the-scenes tours of the Sydney Opera House. Plus this year’s Golden Ticket competition is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to explore the ever popular and fascinating Tank Stream. Sydney Open tickets will go on sale on 21 September, with a Member pre-sale from 18 September. 

(Tank Stream Focus Tour in partnership with Sydney Water, © Jody Pachniuk)