The Hütt 01 Passivhaus by Melbourne Design Studios.

The annual Open House Melbourne returns in July 2022 with it first in-real-life program in since 2019. The popular event gives the public access to some of the city’s most loved built works. In 2022, the program features a jam-packed lineup of in-person tours, talks and buildings, temporarily turning the city into a living exhibition.

The 2022 theme of “Built/Unbuilt” showcase Melbourne’s most recently completed and yet-to-be completed spaces, as well as a host of returning favourites across 218 events in one weekend.

We’ve compiles a selection of seven residential highlights to look out for.

The Hütt 01 Passivhaus by Melbourne Design Studios.

Shortlisted for the sustainability award in the 2022 Houses Awards, this home produces more energy than it consumes, earning it the highest category certification of Passivhaus credentials. This four-bedroom home is just 78 square metres in footprint and occupies a site of 250 square metres. It consists of a contemporary scheme with modernist and Nordic touches and sets a new benchmark for small-scale urban densification. Tours will run every half hour from 10:30 am to 1 pm on Sunday 31 July.

Park Life by Architecture Architecture.

In the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown, this home emerges out of a pocket of 1940s housing commission duplexes and responds to the opportunities and constraints of living on a prominent corner in a “park life” setting. Architecture Architecture’s extension and renovation is a contextual design that cleverly integrates home, garden and streetscape. Tours will run on the hour from 10 am until 4 pm on Saturday 30 July.

Thornbury Townhouses by Fowler Ward.

With a brief to deliver two high-quality homes on a limited budget, these townhouses provide a valuable case study for a small-scale multi-residential development. Dual occupancy townhouses are commonplace in Melbourne’s inner northern suburbs, but these homes are far from common, exhibiting clever passive design feature and striking architectural choices. Tours will run every half-hour from 11 am until 4 pm on Sunday 31 July.

Figr Pop-up House by Figr.

Image: Courtesy of Open House

Featuring a permeable facade open to the street, Figr Pop-up House challenges expectations around inner-city living, inviting opportunities for interactions with the community. Located in a predominantly heritage setting, this home uses the silhouette of the neighbouring homes to create a unique extrusion elevated from the ground. The “hovering belly” of the house creates an open undercroft that guides residents into the house and through the landscaped gardens. 15-minute tours will run continuously from 11 am to 3 pm on Saturday 30 July.

Nightingale 2 Fairfield by Six Degrees.

Completed in 2019, this collaboration between Six Degrees Architects and developer Hip V. Hype is based on the tenets of living simply in well-built, sustainable homes, the Nightingale model is evident in the honest, robust and transparent design of this 20-apartment block. Two tours will be held on Sunday 31 July – at 10 am and 12 pm.

Cairo Flats by Architecture Architecture.

Robin Boyd’s 1957 home is an enduring exemplar of Australian modernist architecture and remains a well-preserved archive of the genius’s library, furniture and artwork, alongside old manuscripts, correspondence, drawings and news clippings. Tours of the Walsh Street house will run On Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 July, at 11 am, 12 pm, 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm.

Cairo Flats by Architecture Architecture embraces the philosophy of “less is more” with these simple and flexible Carlton apartments. A renovation of a 1936 block designed by Acheson Best Overend, this building is an icon of early Melbourne modernism. Tours will run on the hour from 10 am until 4 pm on Sunday 31 June.

Click here to view the full program.

Approval has been granted to the $141 million Bates Smart-designed commercial tower slated for Sydney’s Green Square neighbourhood.

A development application has been submitted to the City of Fremantle for a U-shaped hotel on an historic site the heart of the city.

The Hütt 01 Passivhaus by Melbourne Design Studios.

The Hütt 01 Passivhaus by Melbourne Design Studios.

Park Life by Architecture Architecture.

Thornbury Townhouses by Fowler Ward.

Figr Pop-up House by Figr.

Nightingale 2 Fairfield by Six Degrees.

Cairo Flats by Architecture Architecture.

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