Brunswick, Victoria, Australia

Terrace House by Austin Maynard Architects and Openwork landscape architects is an environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable owner-occupier, multi-residential building in the Brunswick suburb of Melbourne.

 “Terrace House creates a series of homes that re-imagine a past inner-city suburban life, where rows of workers cottages generated and nurtured a close community,” states Austin Maynard Architects.

“Modeled on this plan of traditional terrace houses, stacked and elevated, the building holds and balances a light, open, and communal domestic intimacy within an exposed, almost infrastructural framework to great effect.”

Austin Maynard Architects has developed the fossil-fuel-free, multi-residential Terrace House in Brunswick as a revolutionary approach to housing that delivers well-designed, quality homes that are environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable. 

Terrace House is the result of the architect’s clients, staff, and allies putting their own money at risk to create community-focused homes that are equitable, ethical, cost-effective, robust, and resilient in the face of the growing climate crisis. 

The project addresses key Ecologically Sustainable Design (ESD) initiatives in design and operations.

This fossil-fuel-free building reduces long-term environmental impact, cuts running costs, and has an average NatHERS Rating of 8.1 Stars.

At the point of entry, it is immediately apparent that this building’s primary focus is geared towards the wellbeing of its residents and the planet: with bike parking, gardens, and spatial generosity adjacent to the ground floor circulation and an architectural tectonic that exposes its systems, economy, and structure.

The lean, dematerialised multi-residential building excels in making all aspects of its base materials and constructed volumes hard working and incredibly efficient while maintaining and enhancing a sense of domesticity and communal wellbeing. 

Extending building materials for maximum economy and concise structural systems reduces the carbon footprint while maintaining a sophisticated and playful language.

It is also important to recognize the effort taken by the architects to carefully craft opportunities for the growth of an interconnected and sustainable residential community. 

This is a building that achieves a great deal while rigorously reducing its use of resources.

The building comprises of 20 homes in total, a mix of two- and three-bedroom homes, with 55 bike parks, and three commercial spaces at ground level. 

Intended as owner-occupier, Terrace House is the re-imagining of a past inner-city suburban life, where rows of workers cottages generated and nurtured close community. 

These are not apartments, these are Terrace Houses, stacked six stories high.

Located on Sydney Road, Brunswick, Terrace House is placed on a thin, long block (10 meters by 57 meters). 

Typical small inner-city apartment buildings cannot be arranged on a block this size without the homes facing inward, towards each other, using saddlebacks or compromising bedrooms. 

The architects believe homes should have an aspect from the site, into the surroundings, and to the sky, not facing each other in close proximity. 

The response to this unique site led to generous homes and the opportunity to emulate traditional terrace house plans. 

Homes have external outlooks, a front verandah, a study, and a shared ‘backyard’ on the roof.

In June 2016, five years prior to the beginning of construction, a survey was provided to potential purchasers. 

The survey engaged residents from a very early stage. These residents formed the Terrace House community, whilst the building was being created, and have now formed their own close-knit neighbourhood. 

The results of the survey informed the design, to include elements such as the shared rooftop, communal laundry, bike parking, and no car spaces.

A terrace home, as a typology, is an efficient type of free-standing housing. 

With homes up to 130 square meters, Terrace House is quite large relative to other apartments, yet they are highly efficient relative to freestanding homes. 

The average Australian home is 233 square meters and is typically poorly designed, requires high maintenance, and is unsustainable and inefficient in its use of space and energy. 

Terrace House fills a much needed gap in the housing market. 

It is large enough for families, with the shared resourcing and community of a friendly neighbourhood.

The form of the street facades of Terrace House is a direct response to Brunswick’s rich and diverse built heritage. 

The area has many examples of post-war Mediterranean-Australian architecture, industrial buildings, and grand Victorian shop fronts. 

Terrace House borrows from this context in a respectful and playful way. 

Terrace House is a modern interpretation of the context, with recycled brick and tall tubular steel arches that reflect Brunswick’s industrial past.

Project: Terrace House
Architects: Austin Maynard Architects
Design Team: Andrew Maynard, Mark Austin, and Mark Stranan
Landscape Architects: Openwork
Project Managers: Armitage Jones
General Contractor: Kapitol Group
Developer: Austin Maynard Architects
Photographers: Derek Swalwell
Plans Courtesy of the Architects