Introducing Our Next Neighbourhood in Collaboration with Brickworks & Kennedy Nolan

Brickworks and Kennedy Nolan explore how thoughtful design and enduring materials can support the future of everyday Australian living

For generations, the Australian suburban home has stood for stability, aspiration and community. But as block sizes shrink, energy costs rise and the way Australians live continues to evolve, expectations around housing are shifting.

The national conversation is no longer only about how many homes we build, but how well we build them — how they perform, how they adapt, and how they shape everyday life.

It was this shift that prompted Brickworks to commission acclaimed Australian architecture studio Kennedy Nolan to explore a simple but pressing question: what could suburban housing look like if design, long-term liveability and enduring materials were placed at the centre of the conversation?

The result is Our Next Neighbourhood — a design investigation into how contemporary Australian homes can better respond to changing lifestyles, evolving family structures and the realities of modern suburban life.

Built around achievable suburban typologies, the project envisions homes that feel generous, flexible and deeply connected to their surroundings, while remaining practical and economically realistic for Australian families today.

A central focus of the project was the interplay between design and materiality, and how each shapes the way a home is lived in over time. Thoughtful planning determines how a home functions, but it is the choice of materials that defines how it performs and feels day to day, influencing thermal comfort, acoustics, durability and long-term maintenance.

The homes were also conceived with flexibility in mind, designed to evolve alongside the people living in them and adapt over time to changing family structures, lifestyles and stages of life. For Brickworks, the project reflects an enduring belief that considered design and quality materials are fundamental to better living outcomes for everyday Australians.

“Much of the housing conversation today is understandably focused on supply and affordability, but there is an equally important discussion to be had about the quality and longevity of the homes we build,” said Brett Ward, General Manager of Marketing at Brickworks.

“We wanted to explore how thoughtful design — combined with durable, resilient materials — could create homes that not only function well today, but continue to support Australian families and communities long into the future.”

Brick played a central role in the project’s thinking, valued not only as a building material but for what it brings to everyday life: permanence, energy efficiency, low maintenance and a deep connection to Australian suburban identity.

Kennedy Nolan approached the brief as an opportunity to show how relatively simple, achievable design moves can meaningfully improve the experience of suburban housing.

” We were delighted when Brickworks asked us to look at Project Home housing in Australia. In recent years this sector of the market has not intersected with Australia’s world-famous domestic architecture, but there is a rich history of collaboration worth re-investigation.

Innovation in this sector is not just nice to have – it is essential to accommodate changing family groupings, energy use, heat island effects and disconnection from place. We found there are some simple moves which can have a big effect.”

At a time when housing debates are dominated by speed, efficiency and short-term outcomes, Our Next Neighbourhood offers a more optimistic vision — one grounded in the belief that well-designed homes, built with care and enduring materials, deserve to remain at the heart of everyday Australian life.

For more information visit www.brickworks.com.au