Australian architecture has always been unique, combining European construction practices with local building materials and design styles that accommodate our contrastingly warmer temperate, tropical, and arid climate. While older colonial, Federation, art deco, and midcentury architectural styles across the inner suburbs of urban spaces like Melbourne and Sydney reflect more European influences, the ‘60s onwards gave birth to more distinctive styles, like postwar brick housing and Australian contemporary abodes.
Today, Australian architecture is in a new state of flux, this time inspired by growing demands for sustainable, eco-friendly architectural styles, and designs that accommodate the evolving lifestyle needs of Aussie families. Here are the major architectural trends that are set to define this new era of Australian property development and design.
Uniquely Australian Townhouses
In inner city suburbs, land plots are growing smaller, prompting architects to redefine the traditional Australian approach to residential property development, which prioritised creating spacious interiors. As Aussie homeowners still value having big backyards and bedrooms, builders have a novel challenge: creating compact abodes that still maximise on their space.
Enter the Australian townhouse. A staple of skylines in inner city areas and a specialty for bespoke builders in Melbourne in particular, uniquely Australian townhouses boast innovative layouts that deliver optimal space and light – two qualities that Australian homeowners universally value.
Multi-storey townhouses are growing in popularity amongst Australian homebuyers, providing a more stylish and modern alternative to traditional villa and unit-style dwellings. By building upwards rather than outwards, these Australian townhouses are also able to deliver a level of privacy that isn’t as easy to attain with ground floor unit designs in urban spaces. Design features like private balconies for bedrooms help to not only maximise the space in townhouse lots, but also to maintain a level of outdoor living that is also valued by Australian families.
Designing for Indoor-Outdoor Living
With a culture built on surfing, mountain biking, and backyard cricket, it’s no secret that Aussies love to get out in the great outdoors. As a result, Australian architects of yesteryear took ample advantage of the sheer abundance of land in urban and suburban areas to craft residences that boasted big gardens.
But as Aussie land plots grow smaller, the promise of a big backyard for future families is dwindling, being replaced instead with more compact, private green spaces. There are definitely benefits to this, namely that lawn care and landscaping will be a lot more low-maintenance for future generations – but this time-saving advantage comes at the expense of cultural staples like backyard barbies or again, a game of backyard cricket after Christmas Lunch.
So are future households expecting to go without? Well, no. Even though backyards are growing smaller, contemporary architects are bridging the gap by designing transitional areas that meld indoor and outdoor living spaces. This includes design elements like floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors to integrate interior living areas with outdoor entertaining spaces, and balconies that provide ample space for lounging amidst some potted greenery.
And what about access to enough space to play backyard cricket? Well, townhouse and apartment complexes are now being designed with shared green spaces, fitted with barbecue facilities, play equipment, and plenty of open space for sports like footy and cricket. These shared green spaces not only help Aussie families reclaim a sense of community in their outdoor spaces, but are also proving to be supportive of local wildlife by creating green corridors for animals to move freely in urban and suburban spaces.
Organic & Locally Sourced Cladding
While postwar architecture was always defined by its simple brick cladding and minimal insulation, contemporary Australian architecture is swapping processed and imported materials for more organic and locally sourced alternatives that include treated Australian timber, stone, and concrete. These construction materials are revolutionising facade design for Australian homes, and also pairing perfectly with front garden spaces that boast native Australian trees and plants, creating a neutral backdrop that brings the many colours of the bush alive.
Not only are these organic materials changing the look and feel of residential streets across the country, but they’re also proving to be optimal for climate-conscious design, namely by supporting passive heating and cooling practices that help Aussie families become less dependent on outdated gas heating, and also supporting bushfire-resistance in fire-prone areas.
These modern cladding options are also being used to renovate outdated postwar abodes that infamously boast poor insulation, resulting in interior environments being so chilly that residents can see their breath on winter evenings. So if you’re considering exterior cladding over a knockdown rebuild, keep climate and fire-resistant cladding methods in mind.
Open Plan vs. Adaptable Layouts
In recent years, we’ve been learning that open plan living spaces are actually not the most eco-friendly design practice – namely because they pose major temperature control issues. It’s simply harder to keep a stable interior temperature in a larger space. And given how changeable climate conditions can get across Australia’s eastern and south-eastern coast (which is where the great majority of Australia’s population lives), contemporary architects are proudly swapping out the open plan fad for more future-ready adaptable layouts.
If you’re a househunter touring open houses currently, you’ll find that hallways are back! As are separate kitchen and dining spaces. But although you can expect to find more walls in new builds, interior spaces still maintain a sense of spacious living thanks to their more innovative layouts, with architects considering natural flows of traffic to create separate interior environments that still organically meld together.
We’re also seeing more modular walls, giving Aussie families the option to shift seamlessly from self-contained interior spaces to open plan-esque environments. This is supporting Aussie families in hosting and entertaining, as home environments can transition from private comfort to community-oriented designs.
What will Australian Suburbs of the Future Look Like?
As Australian cities continue to grow upwards rather than outwards, we’ll likely keep seeing architects and designers pioneer space-saving strategies that help retain a sense of airiness to Aussie abodes. Similarly, consumer sentiments shifting further towards sustainable and climate-ready designs will likely also inspire architects to keep reimagining home builds to incorporate more fire-resistant materials and landscaping practices.
As the nation also progresses further through their renewable energy transition, we’ll likely also see rooftop solar considerations inform architectural design strategies, with factors like solar orientation being used to optimise not only roof designs to maximise on solar installation, but also in window placement to support passive heating and cooling.
Time will tell just how much Australian suburbs will change, but one thing is clear: whatever changes are made will be with the intention of supporting all the lifestyle needs of Australian families.
