Click to enlargeCanterbury Provincial Council Buildings (Benjamin Mountfort, 1858-65). Image: Peanut Productions 1 of 7The Piano (Wilkie & Bruce, 2016). Image: The Records 2 of 7The Piano (Wilkie & Bruce, 2016). Image: The Records 3 of 7Former Addington Gaol (Benjamin Mountfort, 1880). Image: Peanut Productions 4 of 7Former Addington Gaol (Benjamin Mountfort, 1880). Image: Sarah Rowlands5 of 7Isaac Theatre Royal (Sidney and Alfred Luttrell, 1908; restoration: Warren & Mahoney,2014). Image: Peanut Productions 6 of 7Isaac Theatre Royal (Sidney and Alfred Luttrell, 1908; restoration: Warren & Mahoney,2014). Image: Isaac Theatre Royal 7 of 7Former Addington Gaol (Benjamin Mountfort, 1880).Image: Peanut ProductionsWith51 buildings of different ages, styles and uses open for exploration and a whole host of activities on offer from all ages workshops to expert tours the 2025 festival brings people together for another vibrant celebration of architecture andtautahi.While the full programme is under wraps until 20 March, the team at Te Ptahi, the organisation behind Open Christchurch, have pulled together some top sneak peaks for the designcommunity.Get the dates in your diary and sign up to theirmailing listforupdates.Sneakpeeks:This years festival celebrates the work of Benjamin Mountfort, the pre-eminent exponent of the Gothic Revival Style, in recognition of the bicentenary of his birth. Get up close to a range of his works over theweekend.Open Christchurch also holds the microscope to design excellence in performance spaces. Be some of the first to experience the new Court Theatre from the inside, designed byAthfield Architects in collaboration with English practice Haworth Tompkins. Explore a variety of other spaces, from the Isaac Theatre Royal to ThePiano.Isaac Theatre Royal (Sidney and Alfred Luttrell, 1908; restoration: Warren & Mahoney,2014).Image: Isaac Theatre RoyalExtra forexperts:Take a tour led by leading acoustic experts and learn about designing for soundquality.Discover Mountforts original drawings at the Macmillan Brown Library with pre-eminent expert and architectural historian Dr Ian Lochhead or take a guided walk hosted by Ian that takes in many of Mountforts Gothic Revivalworks.Somethingdifferent:Enjoy a garden design talk with landscape architectRobert Watson at theWarren and Mahoney Christchurch Modern masterpiece, 65 Cambridge Terrace. Hear more about how Sir Miles understood the space, texture and form of the garden as part of thearchitecture.Learn more about the festival here.