In the back streets of Torquay, The Cove uses restraint, light and material clarity to make an architect’s own compact home feel generous.

On an exposed mountain site outside Hobart, Eyrie House uses weight and lightness to create both shelter and outlook.

How can a courtyard make exposure feel protective rather than vulnerable? At St Andrews Beach, Aych Architects answers through a home shaped around a central courtyard and the pressures of a rugged coastal site.

On a narrow inner-Melbourne site, Northcote House creates a generous family home by providing space only where it serves a clear purpose.

Near Fish Creek in South Gippsland, Horizon House responds to an exposed hilltop site with a low horizontal form that provides shelter while opening to panoramic views.

What does it mean to build shelter on one of Victoria’s most weathered coastlines? Along the Great Ocean Road in Fairhaven, LTD Architectural Design Studio conceived a home that responds first to wind, salt and exposure, rather than simply turning toward the view.

What does it mean for a house to tread lightly in a coastal landscape? At Point Lonsdale, Field Office Architects shaped a home that responds first to ecology, outlook and a sense of calm drawn from its surroundings.

In Barwon Heads, Fisherman’s Walk is a study in enough, creating a warm and resolved family home from simple decisions.