OHM Recommends: July Weekend 2022
Posted Wed 20th Jul 2022 | Isabella Radevski
In 2022 – after two years of virtual programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic – Open House Melbourne’s July Weekend makes a long-awaited return to physical form to ‘open up’ a diverse range of heritage and contemporary spaces across the city for the public to experience and encounter.
The overarching theme for this year – Built/Unbuilt – seeks to catalyse a city-wide conversation about the future of architecture, landscape and urban design through the lens of the pressing issues facing cities today, including how the built environment contributes to and shapes public life; the relationship between the built and natural world; and how to reveal, reconcile and acknowledge the pre-histories and afterlives of places, spaces and buildings.
Built/Unbuilt celebrates the contribution and impact of good design in our built environment yet also explores the city and suburbs at diverse scales and systems – the urban, civic, public, landscape, and interior; as well as those spaces that are ‘unbuilt’ and in-between.
We reflect upon the atmospheric impact of the built and profile projects that pursue sustainable practices and net-zero outcomes. We also consider the experience and ongoing impact of the pandemic and how the experience of extended isolation shapes expectations of how we live, work and gather together in public, community and private spaces.
This year, OHM also presents a major exhibition Take Hold of the Clouds – a collaborative project conceived by Tara McDowell, Director of Curatorial Practice at Monash Art, Design and Architecture, and co-curated with Fleur Watson, Open House Melbourne’s Executive Director.
Embedding the work within the city itself, Take Hold of the Clouds brings together cross-disciplinary creative practitioners from the visual arts, architecture, design, sound and film to make installations in response to a diverse range of sites from buildings to urban landscapes to community spaces.
The 2022 OHM July Weekend program is one of the largest programs in our history. Here is a list of our selected highlights noting there’s much more to explore across the program. Browse the full range of programs on offer and plan your itinerary.
Don’t forget that this year, OHM is primarily shifting back to a “first-in, best-dressed” model where most venues will not be pre-booked, but instead are available to those “first in” on the day!
Programs: Exhibitions, Talks, Tours
- Take Hold of the Clouds
All weekend, distributed sites – see microsite for more - Modern Melbourne Premiere
Thursday 28 July, 6–8pm at ACMI - This is Public Speaker Series
Friday 29 July, 5.30–7.30pm at The Capitol RMIT - Design: Building on Country
Saturday 30 July, 5.30–7pm at The Capitol RMIT - Future Heritage: 2022 Heritage Address
Sunday 31 July, 6–8pm at Deakins Edge, Fed Square - Making Home: Talk Series
A Design Guide for Older Women’s Housing: Saturday 30 July, 11am–12.30pm
Common Ground Housing | More than a home: Saturday 30 July, 2–3.30pm
Queen Victoria Market Munro Precinct: Sunday 31 July, 1–2.30pm - Old Customs House – Unbuild and Re-imagine
Saturday 30 + Sunday 31 July, 10am–5pm: Hands-on workshop with artist Jenna Lee - Panel Discussion: The Design Future of Precincts
Saturday 30 July: Panel discussion runs 1.30–2.30pm - Shaping Swanston Street: A Tour with ARM
Saturday 30 July: Walking tour runs 12noon-4pm (approx 3.5 hours) - Site Unseen at CCP
Saturday 30 + Sunday 31 July, 11am–5pm
New Buildings
- Melbourne Holocaust Museum
Sunday 31 July: Tours at 9.30am, 11am and 2pm (booked out) - Glenroy Community Hub
Saturday 30 July: Self-guided tours 9am–4pm. Guided tours at 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm. Craft workshop for all ages at 2pm. Community garden harvest and produce swap at 3.30pm.
Sunday 31 July: Self-guided tours 1pm–5pm. Craft workshop for all ages 1pm–4pm. - Victorian Family Violence Memorial
Saturday 30 July, 10am: Tour and panel discussion - Rebuild La Mama
Saturday 30 July, 4pm: Q&A session with design architect Meg White, heritage architect Jim Gard’ner and heritage interpretation specialist Felicity Coleman
Saturday 30 + Sunday 31 July: Tours at 10am, 10.45am, 11.30am, 12.15pm - Munro Precinct Community Hub
Saturday 30 July, 1pm: Panel discussion and Q&A
Saturday 30 + Sunday 31 July: Tours at 10am, 12pm, 3pm - Spring Place
Multiple locations, tours and talks - Billilla Historic Mansion
Saturday 30 + Sunday 31 July: Tours run on the half hour from 12pm. Last tour starts 4.30pm. - Hütt 01 Passive House
Sunday 31 July: Tours run every half hour from 10.30am–1pm - Queen and Collins
Saturday 30 July: Tours run every hour from 10am–3pm - Collingwood Yards (OHM’s new home)
Sunday 31 July, 2pm: Architect-guided tour
Returning Favourites
- Koorie Heritage Trust
Saturday 30 July, 11am–12pm. Tours at 11am + 11:30am. - Victorian Quaker Centre
Saturday 30 July, 10am–5pm. Tours at 11am, 1pm.
Sunday 31 July, 1pm–5pm. Tour at 1pm. - Victorian Pride Centre
Saturday 30 July, 9am–5pm. Tours at 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm.
Sunday 31 July, 10am–5pm. Tours at 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm. - Melbourne Connect
Saturday 30 July: Tours at 11am and 12.30pm. Lunchtime talk and Q&A session 11.45am–12.30pm. - The Capitol RMIT University
Saturday 30 July, 10am–5pm. Social history tours at 10am, 12.30pm, 3pm.
Sunday 31 July, 10am–5pm. Architectural tours at 10am, 10.45am, 11.30am. - Villa Alba Museum
Saturday 30 July, 11am–3pm. Tours at 11.15am, 1.15pm.
Sunday 31 July, 11am–5pm. Tours at 11.15am, 1.15pm. - Carrum Station
Saturday 30 July: Tours at 12pm, 1.30pm - Fishermans Bend: building a bold vision of innovation from Holden’s proud legacy
Saturday 30 July: Tours at 11am, 2pm - Transurban’s Habitat Filter
Saturday 30 July: Tour at 10am - Nightingale 2 Fairfield
Sunday 31 July: Tours at 10am and 12noon
Feature image: Victorian Quaker Centre by Nervegna Reed Architecture + pH architects. Photo: John Gollings.
