Open Christchurch returned stronger than ever to the streets of Ōtautahi on 6 and 7 May, showcasing an inspiring line-up of more than 50 works of architecture. Now in its third year, the festival is pulling locals and visitors by the masses. While celebrating the legacy of Sir Miles Warren and Maurice Mahoney, the two-day event successfully shone a light on the evolving narrative of the city’s built identity – delving deeper than the typical focus of the well-recorded colonial, modernist and post-quake works, which John Walsh bluntly summarises as “… the works of white males, not all of them dead” in his 2020 book Christchurch Architecture: A Walking Guide.
The festival is orchestrated by the small-but-nimble team at Te
