Townhouse Architecture

From dual occupancy to 27 dwellings, site capacity tested in drawings before you commit.

Townhouses are where Melbourne's housing arguments get settled: more homes on the same land, without towers and without sprawl.

FIXED FEES | 35+ YEARS | 400+ VICTORIAN PROJECTS | REGISTERED ARCHITECT (FRAIA)

MORE HOMES, SAME LAND

For the owner of a block that could hold more, or the small developer building to keep, the questions are always the same three. What will the site yield? What will the council approve? And will the result be worth owning once it is finished?

Architecture answers all three. This practice has been answering them since before townhouses were fashionable: from a 2003 project that turned two dilapidated Coburg cottages into thirteen walk-up apartments, to a 27-dwelling development in Wollert completed in 2024 with a full consultant team, with multi-residential work reaching the $20 million scale in between, portfolio examples rather than a price guide. Registered architect Barbara Yerondais FRAIA leads the practice, with 35+ years and 400+ Victorian projects behind it.

35+

YEARS

400+

PROJECTS

59+

HERITAGE APPROVALS

YIELD

Capacity,
tested honestly

The first number every multi-dwelling project needs is the unvarnished one: what the site actually carries once setbacks, overshadowing, landscaping, parking and the planning scheme have all had their say.

We test that capacity at feasibility, in drawings, and before purchase wherever the timing allows, because a site bought on hopeful arithmetic is the most expensive mistake in this lane. Sometimes the straight answer is two generous homes instead of three tight ones. We will say so, and we will show you why in plan.

FAST TRACK

The rules recently sped up
for small projects

Since October 2025, Victoria's VicSmart pathway has covered dual occupancies and two-townhouse developments, with a 10 business day assessment for projects that meet the standards.

For the classic build-one-keep-one project, that changes the calendar substantially. Larger schemes still run standard pathways, where a clean design case is what moves the clock: thirteen dwellings at Champ Street were approved in five months.

Sitting on a block that could hold more?

Book a feasibility session and get the yield tested in drawings, before the commitment.

BOOK A FEASIBILITY SESSION

PROOF

Delivered,
at every scale

Wollert, 2024

Twenty-seven dwellings, delivered with planning, traffic, energy and landscape consultants coordinated under one design authority, built with Hermitage Homes.

Coburg, 2003

Thirteen apartments from a two-cottage site, approved in five months. An early lesson in finding yield while keeping character.

DESIGN

What makes a townhouse
worth owning

The difference between a townhouse development that sells and one that lingers is rarely the finishes. It is whether each dwelling got designed, or whether one dwelling got designed and then repeated.

Cross ventilation

In every home.

Daylight

That reaches the middle of the plan.

Private open space

That is genuinely usable rather than technically compliant.

Entries

That feel like front doors.

Car parking

Resolved so it does not eat the ground floor.

Decided once, at concept

These decisions are made once, at concept, and they set what the finished project is worth for its whole life.

OUTCOME

What developer
clients get

A capacity number that survives contact with the planning scheme. A design that sells or rents on its plans rather than despite them. Consultant teams coordinated rather than merely collected. And a practice equally comfortable with a backyard dual occupancy and a 27-dwelling site.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Townhouse questions,
answered honestly

How many townhouses will my block fit?

The planning scheme decides, not the sales pitch. Setbacks, overshadowing, landscaping, parking and character policy set the true yield, and we test it in drawings at feasibility, ideally before you buy.

Is a dual occupancy faster to approve now?

Often, yes. Since October 2025 the VicSmart 10 business day pathway has covered dual occupancies and two-townhouse developments that meet the standards. Whether your site qualifies is a feasibility question we answer early.

Do you work with first-time developers?

By preference. The build-to-keep owner is this lane's best client, and you get the same feasibility-first process, fixed fees and consultant coordination that our largest projects run on.

What does townhouse design cost?

Fees are fixed per project and agreed before design begins, scaled to the scheme's size and its consultant needs. The feasibility session prices your specific site and its true capacity.

Can you handle the whole consultant team?

Yes. Planning, traffic, energy and landscape consultants were coordinated under our design authority on the Wollert project, and that is the standard arrangement on schemes of any size.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Useful Victorian
resources

Planning Victoria

Permits, setbacks and overlays.

Victorian Heritage Database

Check your property before you plan.

Extension articles

Extension types and second-storey additions.

START THE CONVERSATION

Run the numbers with
drawings, not hope

A full one-hour feasibility session with Barbara, in person: the site, the scheme, the true yield and a realistic program. She sketches while you work through budget, logistics and planning timelines together, and the concept is yours to keep. No obligation, fixed fees from there.

Feasibility before purchase beats regret after it, and the fast-track pathways reward projects that arrive already designed.

Start the Conversation

Every project begins with a deep inquiry into site, heritage, and vision. Let’s discuss the strategic potential of your next work.

SCHEDULE A FEASIBILITY SESSION →

A PRELIMINARY CONSULTATION TO EVALUATE HERITAGE CONSTRAINTS, SITE POTENTIAL, AND PROJECT FEASIBILITY.