A mini-Aussie dream for $1? The future of Sydney housing revealed

The Age

15-07-2025

A pattern for a 'mini Australian dream home' for $1 by an award-winning architect? That's the promise of the NSW government's Housing Pattern Book, containing eight designs ranging from new, better-insulated terraces to more flexible townhouses and manor homes.
Announcing the low-density designs that will be available from Wednesday, Premier Chris Minns said the pattern book was a step towards making NSW an affordable place to live for the next generation.
'Too many people in NSW have been locked out of the housing market by rising costs and a system that made it too hard to build,' he said.
Housing was the biggest cost-of-living pressure, and it was forcing young people to flee at twice the rate others were moving to the state.
SAHA, a young practice founded by Harry Catterns and Sascha Solar-March, has a solution. It has won awards for its homes where two generations can live side by side or on top of each.
Its pattern is for four row homes arranged side by side, running perpendicular to the street.
Catterns said they had wanted to give every owner 'a mini Australian dream'. Every home has a front door and a small yard, and they would own it from the floor to the roof.
By using an approved pattern, home owners and developers will get fast-track approval.
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Planning Minister Paul Scully said the pattern book removed guesswork and delay from home-building. 'These designs are high-quality, easy to build, and for the first six months, they'll cost $1.'
After that, they'll sell for $1000 a design, a saving of about $19,000 on the usual fees for an architect-designed home.
An advertising campaign will target home buyers looking to take advantage of increased density near railways and shopping centres under the Transport Oriented Development zones.
The patterns can be adapted to different sites, locations, even steep Sydney blocks, and family size. That may address some of the gripes from councils about them being cookie-cutter designs.
Pattern books for manor homes and terraces have been used since settlement. Those in the new pattern book are designed to meet the current guidelines for heating, cooling, ventilation, and room size.
See the eight patterns here and vote below.
Anthony Gill Architects, an award-winning Bondi practice, has designed two-storey semis that were flexible, straightforward and simple. Yet, Gill said, they had 'moments of delight'. The kitchen is located under a double-height void, bringing light and ventilation into the heart of the home.
Sibling Architecture's semis give each home its own identity with street frontage and individual colour palettes. They have private enclosed courtyards, a covered outdoor area and a large garden that can be private or shared with the neighbouring home.
Carter Williamson Architects design for three two-storey brick terraces side by side turns the Victorian terrace into a modern antipodean one. Each one has an internal courtyard. Principal Shaun Carter said: 'What we are doing is a contemporary version of the Sydney terrace that everyone knows and loves. It is such great, simple and bulletproof housing.'
Sam Crawford Architects' group of three terraces was designed to stack up financially, and provide an affordable and flexible home design. For example, the garage could be converted into a bedroom for a young adult or an ageing parent. The design meets gold and silver standards for accessible housing.
Officer Woods won an international design competition for the pattern book. Its terrace design provides a range of bedroom and bathroom configurations. It offers a base design of three terraces – suitable for a single lot – and another pattern of seven connected homes that could suit a new development.
Other Architects x NMBW is another winner. It has come up with a new twist on terraces, which the NSW government has committed to build. Director David Neustein said the design for a courtyard terrace house combined the benefits of life spent around a sunny courtyard garden with the efficiencies and replicability of terrace housing. It had been informed by research studying the kind of renovations home owners did to older terraces. Very often they opened the rear, the kitchen and dining area to the garden. That meant the street life had retreated. 'We wanted to have our cake and eat it too,' Neustein said. Each terrace design comprises three separate buildings. A carport could double as a covered dining area, the rear of the building could be a home office, or a teenager's escape.
Studio Johnston's manor homes have reinvented the old two-up, two-down apartment blocks that dominate Sydney's eastern suburbs. Instead of all facing the street, its pattern has two facing the rear and two facing the street to maximise light. Director Conrad Johnston said the attraction of the manor home was that they don't dominate. 'They are polite. They can sit in a street next to single houses. They don't look like apartment buildings. And with their front gardens, they have a presence to the street that's not detracting from other homes.'
SAHA's row homes prioritise light and fresh air. The design can be adapted for steep sites, including sloping lands, and has facades to suit different climates and neighbourhoods.