At St Andrews Beach, Aych Architects turns an imposed building envelope into a courtyard house that remains sheltered from coastal weather while closely connected to the surrounding dunes.

In Mount Martha, Honey House gives a speculative coastal brief a specific sense of place by turning inward, with a sunny courtyard and organising space and light along a masonry spine.

In Shady Creek, MRTN Architects arranges Shady Creek Farm House as a collection of corrugated sheds around a courtyard, allowing the home to belong to the working farm while creating refuge.

In Melbourne’s inner north-west, Ayr House overcomes a south-facing backyard by placing a private courtyard between the original home and its new addition.

Internal courtyards separate a series of pavilions set behind an 1850s Victorian terrace house with a glass walkway suspended above.

With Middle Park Beach at their doorstep, the retired clients did not want a two-storey extension that would give them that much-desired ocean view, they just wanted a modest renovation of their heritage home