Auchenflower Courtyard House

The new courtyard house design replaced a 1960’s brick & tile house, the original house had one redeeming feature; a breeze block screen to the street. This has been recycled into the new design, and also inspired the design direction of the new build to reference the Mid-Century period, particularly the classic examples of homes built in Palm Springs in Southern California during this period.  

The new house sits on a sloping 582sq.m block in the inner-city Brisbane suburb of Auchenflower, about 4km from the CDB. Auchenflower is known for its character filled, leafy - hilly streets that are lined with Brisbane’s traditional style, ‘timber & tin’ Queenslanders.

The house is centred around a landscaped, north facing courtyard that includes a pool. A somewhat radical departure from the normal block configurations in the area and the BCC preferred planning model, typically being a house in the centre of the block, with generous front and rear setbacks. 

All the ground floor living areas fold around the central courtyard and open out to it. The courtyard provides many benefits for the home; bringing northern light and breezes into the interior all day, it is a wonderful, protected landscape for the living areas to open onto, outdoor family life and activities are central to the home and very much connected to the interior, well suited to Brisbane’s sub-tropical climate.

Project Collaborators

Wes Kelder, Joel Kelder Natural Lifestyle Homes

Angus Martin Photography