Most of this year’s architecture festival calendar has already happened. Open Christchurch ran over 1 to 3 May, and the Aotearoa Festival of Architecture filled September.

That still leaves a few dates in 2026, and the next Open Christchurch already has a weekend set.

The Aotearoa Festival of Architecture is run by Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA), the professional body for architects. NZIA calls it the country’s annual celebration of architecture, with talks, exhibitions, open studios, walking tours and workshops run by its regional branches.

What the September festival offered

The Southern branch ran a Pecha Kucha 20×20 night on manaakitanga in the built environment, where each speaker shows 20 slides for 20 seconds. It was held at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery on 17 September and the Wānaka Community Hub on 23 September, with no registration needed in Dunedin.

The branch’s Ted McCoy Lecture was given by Joseph Hampton, principal at Warren and Mahoney. He drew on the new Christchurch Catholic Cathedral and Waimarie, which NZIA notes won Education Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival. The lecture ran at the Dunedin School of Architecture on 24 September and at the Sudima Hotel in Frankton on 25 September.

In Christchurch, the Canterbury branch closed out with Dîner en Blanc at ALTIORA in The Arts Centre on 18 September. The evening also honoured this year’s NZIA Fellowship recipient.

Wellington ran the longest programme. Called Uplift, it went from 21 September to 4 October and included open days at the restored Futuna Chapel in Karori every Sunday in September. Te Matapihi Central Library ran a Lost Architecture display of books, archive photographs and buildings that were proposed for Wellington but never built.

Auckland’s programme included Open Studios on 12 September, when practices across the city let the public in to see how architects work. The NZIA’s in:situ conference ran at the

Aotea Centre from 8 to 10 September alongside the Commonwealth Association of Architects General Assembly.

Still to come in 2026

Three dates stand out. The Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay branch runs a bus tour of works by DGSE, formerly Designgroup PMA, on Saturday 17 October. It leaves Cafe No.5 on State Highway 51 in Hastings at 9am, includes lunch and dinner, and books through the NZIA website.

The Festival of Design Aotearoa runs from 16 to 25 October across Whanganui and Palmerston North. The Designers Institute of New Zealand, a partner, lists talks, exhibitions, installations, workshops and markets over the ten days.

Then on Thursday 5 November, NZIA announces the New Zealand Architecture Awards at Auckland Museum. Tickets are on sale through the NZIA awards calendar page.

Open Christchurch 2027

For South Island readers, the next big date is Open Christchurch, which returns from Friday 30 April to Sunday 2 May 2027.

The festival is run by Te Pūtahi Centre for Architecture and City Making. It opens buildings to the public over the first weekend in May and is free, apart from a handful of private homes. Its About page puts the idea plainly. “The festival is based on a simple proposition: good design improves people’s lives.”

The 2026 festival had 58 listings, including six guided walks and cycle tours. They ranged from the Timeball Station and the Sugar Loaf Transmission Building on Summit Road to Tūranga and the Antigua Boat Sheds.

Several homes were marked booked out on the 2026 programme, including the Norris Strawbale House, Big Blue Penthouse, Baby House and Dorset Street Flats.

Most buildings need no booking, and you turn up during the timetabled hours. Some have free bookable tours. A handful charge $7 plus booking fees. Te Pūtahi uses paid tickets where security, privacy or capacity limits access, and says the fee offsets the cost of managing bookings.

The FAQs ask ticket holders to arrive ten minutes early and advise against booking back-to-back tours. Tickets go through Humanitix and can be returned up to seven days before the festival.

Te Pūtahi hasn’t released the 2027 building list yet. When it does, print programmes are available at Christchurch City Libraries branches.