Houses 143 preview

From tranquil and introspective private courtyards to a garden room that engages respectfully with its surroundings, the homes in this issue reveal how outdoor spaces can be thoughtfully orchestrated to enrich domestic spaces.

In Brisbane, Cavill Architects (page 22) organizes a new house around an outdoor room and abundant subtropical garden, achieving a suburban home that boasts an unusually rich experience of being surrounded by landscape.

In Hobart, Bence Mulcahy explores a similar porosity between house and garden with its addition to a Georgian stone cottage (page 38). This new pavilion embraces its proximity to the street with delicate timber screens that allow the owners to connect with their garden and their neighbourhood.

FMD Architects acknowledges the restorative effects of nature in a rural setting on Bruny Island. Coopworth (cover and page 54) is a refined interpretation of the humble farmhouse that enables its owners to be at once surrounded by and shielded from the rugged Tasmanian landscape.

An experience of landscape is integral to the design of these houses and, despite the architects’ distinctive responses to site and client, is a unifying thread that results in memorable and immensely liveable homes.

Alexa Kempton, editor

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