Latest news with #OpenHouse
The Guardian
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Hidden gems and secret corners: a rare glimpse inside Melbourne's most captivating buildings
Beneath an unassuming Collingwood apartment block, two Melbourne-based artists are preparing to open their studio to the public. Artists Rone (left) and Callum Preston are opening their studio to the public as part of 2025 Open House Melbourne. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian Artist and designer Callum Preston has shared a studio with street artist Tyrone Wright, better known as Rone, for the past five years. This weekend the duo will allow members of the public inside their working space as part of Melbourne's annual Open House program. Preston jokes that even some local residents, unaware of who their neighbours are, may wander over. 'I don't think a lot of people upstairs even know that there's artist studios down here. It just looks like it could be an office or something,' he says. 'A visual overload': stacked shelves inside Rone and Callum Preston's studio. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian The studio is the kind of hidden gem Open House specialises in. Since 2008, the event has given the public a peek inside secret corners and oft-unseen spaces around Melbourne. While the program tends to focus heavily on architecture, the frisson of excitement for the public is in seeing doors that are usually closed to them open, and the feeling of uncovering treasures concealed in plain sight. Across the three days, Wright and Preston will introduce their studio to visitors and roam alongside them. In-progress artworks and the pair's personal art archives dating back 20 years will be on display. The studio will also feature props used in Rone's installations, including 8,000 books nestled inside each other like babushka dolls, alongside works in progress and TVs playing video works. Wright describes the place as 'a chaotic space' and 'a visual overload', but Preston notes 'there's a method to all the madness'. 'Everything's sort of labelled in its own way. I don't think the National Gallery archivist would love the way we do it, but we have it all here,' he says. Items from past installations in Rone and Callum Preston's studio. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian Wright grew up surrounded mainly by tradespeople and says he never met artists when he was young. Opening studios to visitors, and giving them a look at the process behind the works, can offer younger people a window into a creative life and make it more accessible, he explains. 'Talking to younger people, I've always just kept in mind [that] this might be important for them – this moment to meet someone who's doing something that they might aspire to, or they didn't even consider that could have been real,' he says. 'Seeing an artist do something just seems more doable [to you], because you see that they are just real people.' Past headliners of Open House have included the Myer Mural Hall and a limited lottery for rare access to the dilapidated century-old ballroom at the top of Flinders Street station (years before arts festival Rising secured use of the space). The 2025 program includes nearly 200 buildings, spaces and activities, from the new veloway in the West Gate Tunnel Project to a First Nations kayak tour down the Yarra River. Here are some other highlights. Cairo Flats Two apartments in Cairo Flats in Fitzroy will be open to the public. Photograph: Tom Ross/XYZ Fitzroy's most distinctive 1930s apartment block – 36 'bachelor'-style flats arranged in a U-shape around a central garden, with a communal dining room, lockable garages and famous cantilevered concrete stairs – was key to the growth of apartment living in Melbourne. It was described by the magazine Australian Home Beautiful in 1937 as 'a new solution of the problem of combining what are so often incompatibles – space-economy, comfort, absolute modernity, and minimum rentals'. Tours of the building, grounds and two apartments will be led by Cairo Flats owners. Younghusband Woolstore Younghusband Woolstore has been restored and redeveloped for 'adaptive reuse'. Photograph: Open House Melbourne Catching a passing glimpse from the train of the ghost signs that linger on the 122-year-old redbrick may be the only interaction many Melburnians have had with this industrial building. Broker Younghusband and Co bought the 1901 Kensington storehouse from wool seller R Goldsbrough Row and Co and operated the facility until 1970, after which it was used for artistic studios and costume storage for the Australian Ballet. The building has recently been restored and redeveloped for 'adaptive reuse', leaning into its heritage elements. The first stage of that redevelopment was completed last year. A guided tour of the revived site will be hosted by the architects Woods Bagot and contractor Built on Friday, while visitors can roam around it in their own time on Saturday. Visitors can roam around the building in their own time on Saturday. Photograph: Open House Melbourne Ziebell's farmhouse Built in the 1850s, this bluestone farmhouse in Thomastown – once known as Westgarthtown, or Germantown – has been home to five generations of dairy-farming families. The house was built by German migrants Sophia and Christian Ziebell in a European style, with 61cm-thick rubble bluestone walls, pitched roofs, adjoining rooms and a large inhabitable attic. It is situated in a rambling garden, alongside the original stone barn, washhouse and bathhouse, and Heritage Council Victoria says it is likely the earliest surviving dwelling of the migrant settlement. Ziebell's farmhouse in Thomastown dates from the 1850s. Photograph: David Johns The site has been restored by Whittlesea city council, and as part of Open House, descendants of Germantown families will provide tours, insights, reflections and readings about farm life in the area. Henry Ziebell in the home's attic. Photograph: Jason Cheetham Tay Creggan Tay Creggan in South Yarra is now a girls' school. Photograph: Strathcona girls' grammar This heritage-listed mansion in South Yarra, known as 'the house on the rocks', has had many lives: it has been a family home for the wealthy, a hostel for young women and, since 1969, a school campus. It was built to be a family home for architect Robert Guyon Purchas in the early 1880s, but he ran into financial trouble before it was finished and sold it to 'Hawthorn gentleman' Michael Spencer, while continuing to work on it. Spencer's widow sold it to the Catholic church in 1937, who themselves sold it to the Baptist Union of Victoria in 1969 for use by Strathcona girls' grammar school. Heritage Council Victoria describes Tay Creggan as 'one of most picturesque houses built in Victoria in the late 19th century' and 'one of the finest examples in Victoria of the Victorian Queen Anne Revival style, incorporating many Elizabethan-period features'. Tours of Tay Creggan will run on Saturday as part of Open House. Windows inside the heritage-listed mansion. Photograph: Strathcona girls' grammar Open House Melbourne runs from Friday 25 July to Sunday 27 July 2025
Time Out
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Five iconic London buildings you'll be able to access for free in Open House 2025
If you're the kind of nosy neighbour who's always peering out from behind your front curtains whenever there's even a whiff of some drama happening outside, you'll love Open House. The annual festival takes place every September, and offers curious Londoners a rare chance to pull back the curtain and go through the keyholes of some of the capital's most renowned – and often most secretive – buildings, completely free of charge. From historic royal dwellings to magnificent specimens of modern architecture, churches and bridges to art studios and municipal buildings, a whole load of interesting real estate across nearly every London borough is open for snooping during the festival, which returns from 13-25 September. Having partnered with Airbnb, Open House is promising its biggest and boldest festival yet in 2025, with over 800 events on the programme, announced earlier this week. So to help you decide which spots are most worth snooping around ahead of bookings going live on Wednesday 20 August., we've rounded up some of the most iconic London buildings taking part this year. The 5 best buildings to visit during Open House 2025 Lincoln's Inn The oldest of London's four Inns of Court – its records date all the way back to 1422 – Lincoln's Inn has been home to London's elite legal minds for more than 600 years. The 11-acre site encompasses an array of facilities used by its members, including the Grade I-listed Old Hall and Grade II-listed Great Hall, a chapel, one of the UK's most important law libraries and a variety of lecture theatres and meeting rooms. Usually closed to the public, Open House is a very rare chance for a peek inside these historic corridors of power at it's open day, when you can also check out an exhibition and a programme of history talks and panel discussions too. Lincoln's Inn, WC2A 3TL. Sat 13 September. Free. City Hall Opened in 2012 as an exhibition centre and think tank called The Crystal, London's new City Hall in the Royal Docks has been the home of London Assembly and the offices of the Mayor of London since 2022. And while the building does offer limited public access year round, Open House is a chance to have a proper snoop around, and to learn more about City Hall's impressive sustainability credentials, – which earned it the first ever BREEM Outstanding certification, on one of the drop-in tours, as well as checking out the magnificent views over the historic local area from its events space, London's Living Room. Kamal Chunchie Way, E16 1ZE. Sat 13-Sun 14 September. Free. HMS Wellington A sleek, 81-metre military ship stationed on the north bank of the Thames between Blackfriars and Waterloo, HMS Wellington saved hundreds of lives during the six-year Battle of the Atlantic during World War II, steaming close to a quarter of a million miles and escorting 103 Atlantic Convoys. The ship has rarely been open to visitors before this summer, but following a major restoration project it will now be open to fee-paying members of the public every weekend. And to celebrate, HMS Wellington will be free to visit during Open House, offering hundreds of visitors the chance to learn more about the heroic deeds that occurred during the ship's career. Temple Stairs, WC2R 2PN. Sun 14 September. Free. London Film School Mike Leigh, Ann Hui, Michael Mann and Carla Simón are just a few of the renowned directors to have learned their craft at the London Film School in Holborn. Step into their shoes at one of the renowned institution's Open House filmmaking workshops, where you'll get to work with green screen and a camera operating team, then do a tour of the site's cinema and workshop spaces, housed in a former banana warehouse. 24 Shelton Street, WC2H 9UB. Sun 14 September. Free. Senate House A towering Art Deco landmark in the heart of Bloomsbury, Senate House was once the tallest secular building in the city. Supposedly the inspiration for the 'Ministry of Truth' in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, it survived the Blitz in part because Hitler supposedly took a shine to it and had plants to make it the Nazi Party's headquarters should the Third Reich have successfully invaded Britain. These days it's best known as the site of the University of London's main library, which is usually reserved for the eyes of bookish students and academics, but members of the public can get lost among its marble-lined corridors and maze of bookshelves on an in-person or virtual tour during Open House. Malet Street, WC1E 7HU. Sat 20-Sun 21 September. Free.
GMA Network
10-07-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Miriam College Alviera hosts first ever open house for SY 2025-2026!
Miriam College Alviera successfully hosted its first-ever Open House on Saturday, July 5, 2025. (Photo from Miriam College) PORAC, Pampanga – Miriam College Alviera (MCA), the newest co-educational campus within the esteemed Miriam College school system, successfully hosted its first-ever Open House on Saturday, July 5, 2025. This landmark event served as the official welcome for prospective students from Kindergarten to Grade 10, gearing up for the new school year set to begin on August 11, 2025. The Open House offered an engaging and immersive experience for families. Attendees enjoyed a vibrant welcome program, followed by a series of fun and interactive classroom activities crafted by MCA's dedicated and passionate teachers. These activities were designed to spark creativity and foster innovation, showcasing the campus modern learning environments, which feature flexible "huddle areas,"collaborative spaces, and reconfigurable classrooms. Parents and children alike embraced the opportunity to experience firsthand the dynamic educational approach Miriam College Alviera offers. Expanding a legacy of excellence Miriam College Alviera represents a significant expansion for the institution. Building on the proven success of its Nuvali campus, this third campus extends Miriam College's unwavering commitment to delivering quality Catholic education to Central Luzon. As Miriam College approaches its centennial celebration, MCA is poised to uphold the institution's rich legacy of academic excellence and its dedication to nurturing future leaders who are ready to serve in an increasingly industry-driven world. A campus designed for the future MCA's strategic location within Alviera, a rapidly growing estate pioneered by Ayala Land Inc. and Leonio Land Holdings Inc., positions it at the heart of Central Luzon's development. The campus master plan and design, expertly crafted by Architect Ed Calma of Lor Calma, prioritize safe, flexible, and environmentally friendly spaces that perfectly align with Miriam College's core values. This vision of sustainable living, which seamlessly blends business and recreation, reinforces Miriam College's holistic learning approach and its vital role in shaping an innovative future for the budding community. Under the category of 'Architectural Design- Education/Institutional' the design of the building won the 2022 Outstanding Property Award London (OPAL). This award celebrates outstanding projects that demonstrate creativity, innovation, and sustainability. Architect Ed Calma's design for MCA was recognized for its innovative spaces and for how it responded to the site's unique topography, preserving its natural elements while creating flexible and inspiring learning environments. Enrollment and What to Expect Beyond the engaging activities, the Open House provides a valuable opportunity for parents and children to participate in classroom immersion sessions, with on-site application and an option for kids to undertake the creative assessment for interested enrollees. Enrollment period begins July 22 to August 1, 2025. Miriam College Alviera is excited to commence classes on August 11, 2025. At Miriam College Alviera, future students are provided with support to help them design their possibilities and stand out.
The Advertiser
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Rone's global street art starts in this shared studio
Street artist Rone's multi-storey murals of female faces can be seen in dozens of cities worldwide but they have their beginnings in a nondescript inner-city studio. From the outside it looks like another residential property development hidden down a one way street in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. But step inside and Rone, aka Tyrone Wright, is busy scaling up his next mural project, tracing a section of the design that's been projected onto the studio wall before going over his lines again using a high voltage perforating machine. "It's dangerous, you do get electrocuted every now and then," he says. "I had to import one from the US." Rone shares this studio with fellow artist Callum Preston, who is best known for his elaborate nostalgia-driven installations such as a replica video store from the 1980s that's currently on show at Melbourne's Immigration Museum. The studio will be open to the public for the first time in July for Open House Melbourne weekend, as part of a program of almost 200 open buildings and events. Overall more than 65,000 people are expected to participate in the program and fans of the city's renowned street art scene can also visit The Blender Studios in West Melbourne and Everfresh Studio, also in Collingwood. In Preston's section of the studio there's a globe, a megaphone, a skull, and several old telephones - parts of an installation built for rock band The Living End to launch their recent single at nearby music venue The Tote. The artist hopes to re-assemble at least some of the scene from The Tote for Open House, while his illustrations for other bands such as Parkway Drive, Violent Soho and Something for Kate will also be on display, as well as an elaborate mobile set-up for making two-minute noodles at COVID lockdown picnics. Both artists have worked in various studios in and around Collingwood for the past 20 years. There was the original Everfresh Studio, which flooded several times, and a studio near the Abbotsford Convent where artworks had to be protected from pigeons due to the missing windows. "Each building we eventually get kicked out of, whether it's getting developed or whatever other reason," said Rone. They may have cracked the code though, buying a commercially zoned space in a relatively new building. It could have been another cafe but in this part of Melbourne, coffee is an oversupplied market. The studio doesn't leak and there's no landlord to evict them. While many artists can work at home in spaces such as garages, inner-city studios are increasingly rare, especially for groups of artists such as Everfresh, Preston says. It's not just gentrification but people generally getting smarter about how to use marginal buildings. "The spaces that weren't useful to people became artist spots but now everything's useful because the way people shop and live is different," he said. Other attractions at Open House include first time access to the West Gate Tunnel Veloway, backstage tours of Melbourne theatres and admission to player areas at the Western Bulldogs Football Club and Melbourne Vixens. The Melbourne edition is part of Open House Worldwide, a network spanning 60 cities on five continents and reaching more than 750,000 people annually. Melburnians are encouraged to plan early as some attractions are expected to book out. Open House runs on Saturday July 26 and Sunday July 27. Street artist Rone's multi-storey murals of female faces can be seen in dozens of cities worldwide but they have their beginnings in a nondescript inner-city studio. From the outside it looks like another residential property development hidden down a one way street in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. But step inside and Rone, aka Tyrone Wright, is busy scaling up his next mural project, tracing a section of the design that's been projected onto the studio wall before going over his lines again using a high voltage perforating machine. "It's dangerous, you do get electrocuted every now and then," he says. "I had to import one from the US." Rone shares this studio with fellow artist Callum Preston, who is best known for his elaborate nostalgia-driven installations such as a replica video store from the 1980s that's currently on show at Melbourne's Immigration Museum. The studio will be open to the public for the first time in July for Open House Melbourne weekend, as part of a program of almost 200 open buildings and events. Overall more than 65,000 people are expected to participate in the program and fans of the city's renowned street art scene can also visit The Blender Studios in West Melbourne and Everfresh Studio, also in Collingwood. In Preston's section of the studio there's a globe, a megaphone, a skull, and several old telephones - parts of an installation built for rock band The Living End to launch their recent single at nearby music venue The Tote. The artist hopes to re-assemble at least some of the scene from The Tote for Open House, while his illustrations for other bands such as Parkway Drive, Violent Soho and Something for Kate will also be on display, as well as an elaborate mobile set-up for making two-minute noodles at COVID lockdown picnics. Both artists have worked in various studios in and around Collingwood for the past 20 years. There was the original Everfresh Studio, which flooded several times, and a studio near the Abbotsford Convent where artworks had to be protected from pigeons due to the missing windows. "Each building we eventually get kicked out of, whether it's getting developed or whatever other reason," said Rone. They may have cracked the code though, buying a commercially zoned space in a relatively new building. It could have been another cafe but in this part of Melbourne, coffee is an oversupplied market. The studio doesn't leak and there's no landlord to evict them. While many artists can work at home in spaces such as garages, inner-city studios are increasingly rare, especially for groups of artists such as Everfresh, Preston says. It's not just gentrification but people generally getting smarter about how to use marginal buildings. "The spaces that weren't useful to people became artist spots but now everything's useful because the way people shop and live is different," he said. Other attractions at Open House include first time access to the West Gate Tunnel Veloway, backstage tours of Melbourne theatres and admission to player areas at the Western Bulldogs Football Club and Melbourne Vixens. The Melbourne edition is part of Open House Worldwide, a network spanning 60 cities on five continents and reaching more than 750,000 people annually. Melburnians are encouraged to plan early as some attractions are expected to book out. Open House runs on Saturday July 26 and Sunday July 27. Street artist Rone's multi-storey murals of female faces can be seen in dozens of cities worldwide but they have their beginnings in a nondescript inner-city studio. From the outside it looks like another residential property development hidden down a one way street in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. But step inside and Rone, aka Tyrone Wright, is busy scaling up his next mural project, tracing a section of the design that's been projected onto the studio wall before going over his lines again using a high voltage perforating machine. "It's dangerous, you do get electrocuted every now and then," he says. "I had to import one from the US." Rone shares this studio with fellow artist Callum Preston, who is best known for his elaborate nostalgia-driven installations such as a replica video store from the 1980s that's currently on show at Melbourne's Immigration Museum. The studio will be open to the public for the first time in July for Open House Melbourne weekend, as part of a program of almost 200 open buildings and events. Overall more than 65,000 people are expected to participate in the program and fans of the city's renowned street art scene can also visit The Blender Studios in West Melbourne and Everfresh Studio, also in Collingwood. In Preston's section of the studio there's a globe, a megaphone, a skull, and several old telephones - parts of an installation built for rock band The Living End to launch their recent single at nearby music venue The Tote. The artist hopes to re-assemble at least some of the scene from The Tote for Open House, while his illustrations for other bands such as Parkway Drive, Violent Soho and Something for Kate will also be on display, as well as an elaborate mobile set-up for making two-minute noodles at COVID lockdown picnics. Both artists have worked in various studios in and around Collingwood for the past 20 years. There was the original Everfresh Studio, which flooded several times, and a studio near the Abbotsford Convent where artworks had to be protected from pigeons due to the missing windows. "Each building we eventually get kicked out of, whether it's getting developed or whatever other reason," said Rone. They may have cracked the code though, buying a commercially zoned space in a relatively new building. It could have been another cafe but in this part of Melbourne, coffee is an oversupplied market. The studio doesn't leak and there's no landlord to evict them. While many artists can work at home in spaces such as garages, inner-city studios are increasingly rare, especially for groups of artists such as Everfresh, Preston says. It's not just gentrification but people generally getting smarter about how to use marginal buildings. "The spaces that weren't useful to people became artist spots but now everything's useful because the way people shop and live is different," he said. Other attractions at Open House include first time access to the West Gate Tunnel Veloway, backstage tours of Melbourne theatres and admission to player areas at the Western Bulldogs Football Club and Melbourne Vixens. The Melbourne edition is part of Open House Worldwide, a network spanning 60 cities on five continents and reaching more than 750,000 people annually. Melburnians are encouraged to plan early as some attractions are expected to book out. Open House runs on Saturday July 26 and Sunday July 27. Street artist Rone's multi-storey murals of female faces can be seen in dozens of cities worldwide but they have their beginnings in a nondescript inner-city studio. From the outside it looks like another residential property development hidden down a one way street in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. But step inside and Rone, aka Tyrone Wright, is busy scaling up his next mural project, tracing a section of the design that's been projected onto the studio wall before going over his lines again using a high voltage perforating machine. "It's dangerous, you do get electrocuted every now and then," he says. "I had to import one from the US." Rone shares this studio with fellow artist Callum Preston, who is best known for his elaborate nostalgia-driven installations such as a replica video store from the 1980s that's currently on show at Melbourne's Immigration Museum. The studio will be open to the public for the first time in July for Open House Melbourne weekend, as part of a program of almost 200 open buildings and events. Overall more than 65,000 people are expected to participate in the program and fans of the city's renowned street art scene can also visit The Blender Studios in West Melbourne and Everfresh Studio, also in Collingwood. In Preston's section of the studio there's a globe, a megaphone, a skull, and several old telephones - parts of an installation built for rock band The Living End to launch their recent single at nearby music venue The Tote. The artist hopes to re-assemble at least some of the scene from The Tote for Open House, while his illustrations for other bands such as Parkway Drive, Violent Soho and Something for Kate will also be on display, as well as an elaborate mobile set-up for making two-minute noodles at COVID lockdown picnics. Both artists have worked in various studios in and around Collingwood for the past 20 years. There was the original Everfresh Studio, which flooded several times, and a studio near the Abbotsford Convent where artworks had to be protected from pigeons due to the missing windows. "Each building we eventually get kicked out of, whether it's getting developed or whatever other reason," said Rone. They may have cracked the code though, buying a commercially zoned space in a relatively new building. It could have been another cafe but in this part of Melbourne, coffee is an oversupplied market. The studio doesn't leak and there's no landlord to evict them. While many artists can work at home in spaces such as garages, inner-city studios are increasingly rare, especially for groups of artists such as Everfresh, Preston says. It's not just gentrification but people generally getting smarter about how to use marginal buildings. "The spaces that weren't useful to people became artist spots but now everything's useful because the way people shop and live is different," he said. Other attractions at Open House include first time access to the West Gate Tunnel Veloway, backstage tours of Melbourne theatres and admission to player areas at the Western Bulldogs Football Club and Melbourne Vixens. The Melbourne edition is part of Open House Worldwide, a network spanning 60 cities on five continents and reaching more than 750,000 people annually. Melburnians are encouraged to plan early as some attractions are expected to book out. Open House runs on Saturday July 26 and Sunday July 27.
Canberra Times
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Canberra Times
Rone's global street art starts in this shared studio
The artist hopes to re-assemble at least some of the scene from The Tote for Open House, while his illustrations for other bands such as Parkway Drive, Violent Soho and Something for Kate will also be on display, as well as an elaborate mobile set-up for making two-minute noodles at COVID lockdown picnics.
