A client approached Austin Maynard Architects to design a prefabricated pod that could provide additional living space without the time and disruption of a traditional renovation. The intention was to create a compact, self-contained building that could sit within an existing property and function as a flexible extension of the home.

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.

KMSS is the first large-scale project Andrew Maynard completed is his birthplace – Tasmania. He maintains strong ties to the small, yet formidable architectural community in this unique island state. As his first commercial commission, KMSS provided Maynard with a platform to explore the issues of suburban banality that plagued his youth.

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.

A super-sustainable home in Oakleigh. Currently in construction.

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.

The Botanic Gardens wanted a mobile visitors pod for their “Garden Ambassadors”. The pod was to be taken to different parts of the garden coinciding with annual events such as flowering of specific plants where the ambassadors could share their knowledge with visitors about a wealth of history and ecology at the gardens.

The Infiniti Pod was developed as a prefabricated exhibition structure designed to travel from site to site. The client was frustrated with temporary exhibition stands that were quickly assembled, poorly built, and discarded after each event. Instead, they wanted a highly crafted object that could be reused while maintaining brand identity.

Nebula is a portable, road-ready modest grey box. When the artists find a place to work, or a setting where they wish to engage, the grey box opens and flowers. Walls become floors. Colourful awnings descend from overhead to extend the space.