Courtyard House

On an unpromising infill plot between two Victorian terraces, Courtyard House turns inward to create its own private landscape. Three courtyards of varying character — a contemplative gravel garden, a productive kitchen garden, and a sheltered children's play court — organise the plan and bring natural light to every habitable room.

The single-storey form maintains the privacy of neighbouring properties while the flat roofscape, planted with native wildflowers, creates a new habitat visible from surrounding upper floors. Rammed earth walls provide thermal mass and a rich, tactile quality that anchors the building to its site.