Issue 69

Working with and living in a compact footprint is nothing new, but our annual small spaces issue continues to demonstrate how architects are thinking up exciting, memorable and provocative solutions to unconventional sites. The six houses included in this issue go to show that inspiration can come from anywhere – be that looking to Brisbane’s classic Queenslanders or machiya townhouses common to Kyoto, Japan.

Studio Bright (formerly MAKE Architecture) exemplifies the niftiness that defines dynamic small space design. The brief for this project asked for two gardens and living spaces, three bedrooms and a study plus two bathrooms and a garage – all on a site 4.5-metres wide.

In Sydney, Downie North rearranged and expanded the plan of a dark cottage to deliver a light-filled home for a newly-expanded family.

Meanwhile, Folk Architects sprinkled in whimsical flourishes with its seriously smart and sustainable renovation of a Victorian-era terrace house.

A radical eye, a curious mind and no shortage of guts can completely change the functionality of small sites for the better. That’s the takeaway from Olaver Architecture’s modernist-inspired courtyard house in Melbourne’s inner west.

In Brisbane, LineburgWang’s extension to an existing Queenslander pays its dues to the time-honoured typology while achieving a contemporary form.

Down in Fairfield, Melbourne, Nightingale 2.0 marks the latest addition to the trailblazing Nightingale family. The apartment building’s vicinity to the train line serves as a case study in responsibly densifying cities.

Architect Scott Petherick and family’s relocation to Brisbane ushered in a subtropical, alfresco lifestyle enhanced by their layered new garden.

Kudos to the zeitgeist, the Mud Office-designed garden for a BKK Architects project is the result of a fateful interaction via Instagram.

The Grampians (or Gariwerd) are renowned for their natural beauty and are home to over 80 per cent of Victoria’s Indigenous Australian rock art. The ranges also offer bespoke dining experiences to suit any palate.