A hidden cellar, a central garden and a secret room in the roof, Grant House is Austin Maynard Architect’s most recent inner city renovation. Playful, imaginative and future-proofed, it draws on fifteen years experience and experimentation solving the problems posed by dark, narrow and poorly-circulated old terrace houses.

Greenacres is Austin Maynard Architects first completed project in New South Wales. Unable to save the original dilapidated house, a new home was constructed on the steep block, a topography that set new and exciting challenges. The varying heights created the opportunity for multiple platforms to view the expansive outlook over the ocean, the Merewether Ocean Baths, and the city of Newcastle.

More and more Australians are working from home. Kiah House explores a new approach to the home office, while also fulfilling the owners need for a strong and positive sanctuary.

King Bill is a love letter to Fitzroy. King Bill is a collage of Fitzroy’s built history, its textures, its forms, its order and its chaos. The high land values of Fitzroy would encourage many owners to add as much building as possible. Not so for the owners of King Bill. They sought to give something back to the suburb they love. They sought to create a new pocket park.

When the new build on the block, looks like the oldest building on the laneway. Brickface is a compact building situated at the rear of an existing house in Richmond, Melbourne. It consists of a garage at ground level, studio living/guest suite at first floor, and a roof deck. A new pool and entertaining space extends the home’s entertaining area, while the roof terrace becomes the missing productive garden.

Most clients ask for more natural light. In my own home I decided to have far too much natural light. “Let’s wear sunglasses inside”. Let’s bathe in sunlight and drench ourselves in vitamin D.

Alfred House is an addition and reconfiguration of an existing two storey, two bedroom terrace, with a tired lean-to that had little relationship with the exterior space.

There are too many beautiful old shacks being demolished, and Austin Maynard Architects won't be part of it. We refused to have yet another Great Ocean Road shack sacrificed and replaced with a McMansion. We refused to be part of the slow erosion of the Great Ocean Road's collective cultural memory. Kate and Grant couldn't agree more.

Like many of our wonderful clients, the owners of That House are keen to open up to the community rather than permanently hiding or fortifying themselves. As Australian homes and culture become increasingly inward looking and protective, AMA is reacting against this trend.

The client was a senior executive and a new mum. She wanted a light-filled home that could hide the mess. We gave her a floor that was a giant toy-box. Mills is an extension to a one level weatherboard terrace in Melbourne.

The thin allotments that dominate Melbourne's northern suburbs often provide indomitable constraints to solar access and therefore require the production of unorthodox ideas to overcome these constraints and convert them into opportunities.

Cut Paw Paw is a renovation and extension to a double fronted weatherboard home in Seddon, Victoria, Australia. The owners, Derek and Michelle, a professional couple, wanted to extend their home to accomodate a dedicated backyard studio and a new kitchen/living area. The wanted to have a true connection to the garden. They asked for “something radical.”

This small project in a Fitzroy warehouse included some minor interior fix-ups, a car port, and a redesign of the entry courtyard. The intervention is all about making the warehouse temperature stable, and using this pragmatic starting point as the catalyst to enrich the experience of the house. 

These neighbouring terrace homes are owned by two generations of one family. Both houses were in need of repair and update. HOUSE House is a single building that extends both homes. They are separate homes within one architecture.