Downie North Architects on Lunchbox Architect

Downie North Architects is a Sydney practice that designs "homes that authentically connect people to place and nature." It believes architecture "exists at the intersection of the rational and the poetic", responding to the special qualities of a place as much as to the needs of modern life, and it approaches each project, from city to country to coast, "with humility and dedication to our clients."

On Lunchbox, Neutral Bay House opens up an unaltered, blinkered 1920s semi with carefully framed views, bringing in light and connecting it to the garden on a tight site. Skylit House reconfigures a 1950s bungalow in bushland Castlecrag for a family of five without adding a single square metre. Machiya House, on a small corner site in Balmain's Iron Cove heritage area, draws on the traditional Japanese townhouse to balance privacy, light and connection to the street.

See Neutral Bay House, Machiya House and more of their work on Lunchbox below.

A Clever Extension Dramatically Improves 1920s-Era Neutral Bay House

Carefully curated views help Neutral Bay House to feel brighter, connect to the garden and defy its tightly confined urban site.

A Renovation Which Resulted in Less, Not More. But Who's Complaining?

Sometimes, reevaluating and reconfiguring what you have proves that you already have enough. It did for this family of five...

Clever Renovation to a Small, Corner Site in a Heritage Area

This home defies its tight site by using screening and careful window placement to grab light and views without exposing itself.