Houses 155 preview

Our neighbourhoods are dotted with unofficial local landmarks. The red brick apartments on the corner, the tiny terrace with the fragrant garden, the milk bar with the striped awning that provides a welcome moment of shade. The places we live are defined by more than just
the physical building we call home. So how can the design of private houses continue to enrich the public realm?

This issue of Houses considers the reciprocal relationship between house and street. On the cover is The Cottage by Justin Humphrey Architects, an adaptation to a 1970s residence in the Gold Coast. Architect and client have chosen elaboration over eradication, subtly reshaping the house and encouraging interaction between family life and that of the street. In Northcote House by MA and Co, a local landmark affectionately termed “the house beside the bottle shop” is transformed into a multigenerational home that embraces its prominent site.

Many of the homes we visit in this issue are mindful of people and planet. In Perth, an architect harnesses the design of his own home as a testing ground for low-carbon living (Farrier Lane House by MDC Architects. And our Spotlight story examines three projects that pursued prefabrication as an alternative to traditional construction methods. Driven variously by time and cost certainties, preservation of the site’s ecology and waste reduction, each one explores the potential for modular design to make better homes more accessible to more people.

Alexa Kempton, editor

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