Gold Coast Open House

18/12/2025

If you are heading up to the Woodford Folk Festival, make sure to immerse yourself in the incredible sculptures presented by our friends at SWELL Sculpture Festival 🫶

03/12/2025

This year’s Open House program showcased how resilience is embedded in everything from restored heritage homes and adaptive re-use projects to new builds engineered to withstand extreme weather.

Explore how resilience shapes our city’s built environment. On the Gold Coast, buildings and infrastructure aren’t just designed for looks — they’re crafted to respond to a shifting coastline, subtropical climate, and the need to balance heritage with change.

See: goldcoastopenhouse.com.au/journal/
Pictured: Kanooka House by Knight Office and Dan Wilson. Image: Yaseera Moosa.

01/12/2025

Urban Sketching Across the City and Coast — Exhibition Opens Today

Our latest blog explores the unique practice of architect and artist Peter Richards, whose urban sketching workshops have become a defining part of the Open House events in Queensland for many years.

Today marks the opening of Peter’s exhibition, showcasing sketches from the Gold Coast, Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and locations abroad. The exhibition offers an in-depth look at how drawing can capture the character, history and identity of a place.

Visitors can also attend a Meet the Artist session and drawing demonstrations during the exhibition. Read the full story on our website and visit the exhibition Scrumptious Reads until 21 December.

Urban Sketchers

14/11/2025

Unlock the Gold Coast’s next layer of discovery — from hidden museums and mural‑filled laneways to self‑guided walking trails that reveal our city’s stories.

Wander the Miami Street Art Self-Guided Mural Tour, featuring 50+ murals around Miami Marketta and the broader Art Roll along the coast.

Step back in time at the Gold Coast Hinterland Heritage Museum in Mudgeeraba, or visit the Gold Coast Historical Museum in Surfers Paradise, with its heritage-listed artist studio.

After a different kind of history? Explore our proud military history at the Gold Coast Light Horse Education Museum and Southport Military Heritage Museum, where uniforms, medals, and interactive exhibits tell local stories.

See goldcoastopenhouse.com.au/journal/ for more details.

Pictured: Surface Mural. Artist: Budff Diss

12/11/2025

Gold Coast Open House 2025 may have wrapped, but the city’s stories are still waiting to be explored! Walk through history with the Gold Coast’s heritage trails and discover the city in a new light.

Explore the Botanic Gardens’ Kaialgumm Games Trail and Mangroves to Mountains Walk, stroll Coolangatta’s heritage-listed buildings and surf landmarks, reflect along the Kokoda Memorial Walk in Broadbeach, or uncover Southport’s historic streets and civic architecture.

All trails are open daily, self-guided, and perfect for locals and visitors alike. Start your heritage journey today!

See goldcoastopenhouse.com.au/journal/ for more details.

11/11/2025

GCOH Photography Competition Category Winner – Resilience

📸 Bowen Yang – “Spring”, Griffith University

New for 2025, the Resilience category reflects this year’s program theme — exploring how architecture adapts, endures and renews.

Bowen’s image, captured at Griffith University, beautifully embodies that spirit. “Spring” highlights the dialogue between built form and natural environment — a reminder that resilience is not only structural, but also ecological and human.

See all of our winners over at: goldcoastopenhouse.com.au/journal/

University

10/11/2025

GCOH Photography Competition Category Winner – People

📸 Selma Barbosa – “Passage”, DEMC

Selma’s photograph captures the human side of architecture — people moving through the Gold Coast Disaster & Emergency Management Centre. It’s a moment of transition and engagement, where structure meets life.

Her image reminds us that architecture is ultimately about people — how we move, gather, and connect in space.

See all of our winners over at: goldcoastopenhouse.com.au/journal/

09/11/2025

GCOH Photography Competition Category Winner – Detail

📸 Natasha Watson – “Look Up, HOTA”

From the grand to the intricate — Natasha’s photograph focuses on the smaller moments of architecture. “Look Up, HOTA” offers an unexpected perspective, drawing attention to patterns, light and texture that often go unnoticed.

Her image reminds us that architecture isn’t just built — it’s crafted, layered and full of discovery.

See all of our winners over at: goldcoastopenhouse.com.au/journal/

08/11/2025

GCOH Photography Competition Category Winner – Interior

📸 Rachel Cooper – “Looking Up at HOTA”

Inside HOTA – Home of the Arts, Rachel turns her lens upward to reveal a striking play of light and structure. Her image draws the viewer’s eye through shifting angles, inviting us to experience height, form and openness from within.

This piece captures the wonder of HOTA’s architectural interior — where creativity and community meet in space and light.

See all of our winners over at: goldcoastopenhouse.com.au/journal/

Home of the Arts

07/11/2025

GCOH Photography Competition Category Winner – Exterior

📸 Frances Wu – “Solid Rock”, Gold Coast Disaster & Emergency Management Centre

Frances’ image captures the strength and clarity of the Gold Coast Disaster & Emergency Management Centre (DEMC). Through bold framing and attention to material contrast, her work highlights the building’s resilience and purpose — standing solid against change.

Her photograph invites us to see architecture as a statement of confidence, community protection, and enduring design.

See all of our winners over at: goldcoastopenhouse.com.au/journal/

07/11/2025

07/11/2025

🏆 Announcing the winners of the 2025 GCOH Photography Competition!

This year’s GCOH Photography Competition invited participants to explore the architecture of our city from fresh perspectives — from sweeping façades and skyline views to the intricate details that shape our built environment.

Reflecting our 2025 theme of Resilience, photographers were encouraged to consider how architecture adapts and endures — through sustainable materials, community value, and creative reuse.

📸 Overall Winner: Jill Chilton – “Pink Hotel”

Jill’s evocative image of the Pink Hotel, Coolangatta captures the bold geometry, colour and character of a truly Gold Coast icon. Her composition celebrates place and atmosphere — a vibrant reflection of how architecture tells a local story.

Congratulations to Jill and all our category winners for their outstanding work!
View all of our winners over at: goldcoastopenhouse.com.au/journal/