Official Launch of 2024 Gold Coast Open House

Gold Coast City Council Mayor, Councillor Tom Tate and Mayoress Mrs Ruth Tate; Councillor Joe Wilkinson and General Manager City Planning Gold Coast, Ms Catherine Rollo; Chair of Gold Coast Open House and BDA Architecture, Mr Christopher Cumming and the organising committee; Mr Phillip Follent; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen, students, good evening.

I begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands around the Gold Coast and thank Uncle John Graham for his Welcome to Country. I add my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to all First Nations people with us this afternoon.

In the 14 years since the very first Brisbane Open House introduced Queenslanders to the idea of unlocking the secrets of our built environment, we’ve seen a wonderful range of Open House events emerge here in our State.

Those events have enabled six different Queensland communities, including the Gold Coast, to explore and celebrate the unique character of their city, and this year, the Queensland events are part of a remarkable total of 60 Open House festivals that now take the concept to cities from Athens at the beginning of the alphabet to Zagreb, Zaragoza and Zurich at the end.

The scope of activities offered to residents and visitors in that vast range of cities, each with its own geography, climate, history and culture, is truly remarkable.

In Hong Kong’s inaugural festival, just last month, the public were able to explore a state-of-the-art pulp mill which processes 50 tonnes of beverage cartons each day.

In Stockholm last weekend, visitors could see inside the tiny bakery that has been making communion wafers by hand for more than a century; and this weekend Dublin is offering the very Irish experience of a walking tour of the city’s docklands – with traditional singing.

But, whatever the location, Open House, at its core, aims to engage citizens in learning about architecture and city-making by opening up physical buildings and special places free of charge and involving them in important conversations about the cities where they live and work.

This year’s Gold Coast Open House festival promises to deliver yet another fantastic opportunity for learning and discovery for people of all ages, and I am particularly pleased, to see the strong focus on innovative solutions to major contemporary issues, especially housing and the need to future-proof the Gold Coast as one of Australia’s largest and fastest-growing cities.

I am also very pleased to see such strong involvement by public institutions. Our libraries, schools, universities and the excellent facility here at HOTA play a vital role in the community and, in this year’s program, the three regional libraries are making a substantial investment in the future through their fabulous child-oriented programs. What child would not enjoy building the LEGO replica of the Q1 building or designing a dream classroom!

As Patron, I thank the committee and staff for their persistence and commitment, the sponsors and partners for their continuing belief, the building owners for their generosity, and the veritable army of volunteers for the time and effort they give to ensure Gold Coast Open House is a success.

I congratulate you all on bringing yet another year of this marvellous festival to fruition, and have great pleasure in declaring the 2024 Gold Coast Open House officially open.