When a young family of six outgrew their existing 1970s home in Brighton East, they engaged InForm to design something more appropriate, but with a similar feel.

The family admired the densely-planted central courtyard of their original house, and specified an interpretation of this in their new home.

In response, InForm designed a double-storey brick volume to the south of the site (housing all bedrooms), with a contrasting single-storey, timber and glass structure (containing the main living areas) reminiscent of mid-century architecture  wrapping around the rear.

Separating the two structures is the new central courtyard with a pond designed by Eckersley Garden Architecture. A further garden with a pool, dining area and pavilion occupies the backyard. 

‘The house pivots around a central courtyard, which helps to divide and give order to the internal program,’ says Ross Berger, design director at Pleysier Perkins – the architects behind every InForm project. 

In designing these two defined but highly-linked forms, InForm have created zones throughout the home to support both downtime and lively entertaining.

‘The design of the home explores the theory of prospect and refuge, which essentially argues that humans have a tendency to prefer environments both with unobstructed views and areas of concealment and retreat,’ says Ross. ‘It then became about finding a balance between these two notions in the design.’

Masonry on the home’s reclaimed brick facade supports this idea by assisting with privacy, while offering filtered views to the garden and nearby trees.

The end result is an elegant, understated design that places this house comfortably within its suburban context, and offers a contemporary interpretation of its 1970s predecessor!