This book picks up from where "100 Top Houses from Down Under" left off with another fabulous collection of Aussie and Kiwi houses. There is something special about the way that 'our' architects and designers approach house design - in the way they exploit site, location, materials and the climate to add to the ever-evolving Down Under residential vernacular.Some of the stand-out projects in this new compilation include a former petrol station in New Zealand that is now a beautiful contemporary home (complete with mechanic's bay/wine cellar!) ; a house in Brisbane built specifically as a showcase of sustainability; a coastal house in Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula that uses a mathematical surface as its model, with intriguing spatial results; a quirky house in New Zealand that alludes to a nearby railway station; a house in suburban Melbourne that brings the garden inside, encouraging ecological diversity and modelling sustainable building practices; several examples of significant renovations to period homes; tranquil rural properties that engage so completely with the landscape as to almost disappear; some streamlined, hip hard-edged warehouse/apartment projects; gorgeous beachside projects with the requisite ocean views - the list continues.There are many common themes that link these seemingly diverse projects, but the overwhelming thread is the architects' commitment to an environmental agenda. No longer are passive and active thermal and solar devices, rainwater harvesting and storage, non-mechanical ventilation and the like considered new or experimental. They are integral elements that enrich and enhance the superb architecture practised 'Down Under'.
