Melbourne Open House is a not-for-profit association that runs annual events providing the public a free and rare opportunity to discover a hidden wealth of architectural, engineering and historic buildings nestled around the city.

The inaugural MOH 2008 event saw 8 buildings open and more than 30,000 visits across the day. Since then, the event has grown and the 2010 event expanded to 59 buildings, incorporating Docklands in addition to Melbourne’s CBD. Melbourne Open House is now held over two days and runs in association with the State of Design Festival.

Some of the events held as part of the Open House weekend (July 30-31) are:
The Focus photography competition with over 1,700 photographs entered in 2010 is extremely popular with entries from professionals and amateurs alike.

I Spy is a free to enter competition to identify a building or feature from one of the participating buildings in the Melbourne Open House program.

MOH offers a free children’s activity book, designed by Swinburne Design Unit, and Junior Detective card to encourage children 4-12 years to participate in Melbourne Open House. It is designed to increase awareness of the built environment and create an atmosphere of excitement by offering opportunities to discover and learn.
Plans are underway for 2011 to conduct Melbourne Bikeshare tours, Night Lighting and audio tours during the event weekend.

For more information, including the 2011 Building List, please go to Melbourne Open House’s official website.