A New Zealand architect and his clients were content to play by their own rules when it came to creating a coastal family retreat.

For his own weekend retreat in Wye River, architect Ben Edwards used shipping containers to create a modest building with minimal impact on the land.

'Not a McMansion’ was the brief for this Kerstin Thompson-designed beach house in Somers, which cleverly accommodates a retired couple and their regular guests with a cluster of pergola-linked pods elevated for sea breezes and views.

A garden-loving client relocating permanently to Sorrento sought help from her landscape designer sister Fiona Brockhoff and architect Clare Cousins to create a private, secure, flexible beach house whose clever arrangement of pavilions, courtyards and gardens offers strong connections to the coastal environment.

Victoria's first 10-star house is designed by Clare Cousins and championed by the developers behind The Commons as an affordable, beautiful and environmentally healthy future for volume building.

Picnic Island proves too interesting to simply while away the day, with an abundance of activities and nearby beaches and mountains to explore.

Playful, understated and full of surprises, Courtyard Cottage is no ordinary coastal home.

This concrete house in Torquay uses a procession of spaces to strike the right note between the public and private realms.

Designing an environmentally friendly house on a remote island in New Zealand has been a challenging yet rewarding task for both owner and architect.

Compact, stylish and sustainable, this beach home by ArchiBlox is another reason why prefabs are gaining in popularity across the country.