Courtyard houses would suit Australia, so why are they so rare?

You've no doubt seen this kind of thing before on TV or in movies.

That is, a courtyard in the middle of a house. It seems like a foreign thing - something Spanish, Moroccan, Italian, Japanese or French.

It's not common in Australia. Wonder why?

University of Newcastle senior lecturer and architect Dr Chris Tucker is a big fan of the courtyard house.

"The accommodation moves to around the edge of the site. Then in the middle, you have a courtyard and garden," Chris said.

Planning rules, though, can be a hindrance because enforced boundary setbacks mean houses can't be built to the boundary, making it more difficult to establish a courtyard in the middle of the site.

"Lots of architects would use a courtyard model. It's not new, it goes back thousands of years," Chris said.

Courtyard houses have been built for things like defence, privacy, light, ventilation and relaxation.

He said Australia would suit courtyard houses.

Such designs would have no windows on the sides because they're on the boundary.

In the middle, there'd be an oasis of sorts, a place of tranquility with windows, plants, seating, privacy and ample lighting.

"We have the climate for it. Two thirds of the year it's 22 to 23 degrees with light winds. Why not just be outside? I don't get it," he said.

He said the typical suburban layout has the first five metres of a property as a front garden.

This land is, in some ways, underused. It may have a lawn, plants, trees, paving and a driveway, but it's not usually a space where people spend time.

Then there's two strips of land down the side that "often aren't very useful".

So there's all this wasted space and often a small area out the back that isn't much of a backyard. This is especially so in new houses and estates, where increasingly larger houses take up huge amounts of smaller blocks.

While Chris believes the courtyard house makes a lot of sense, especially for urban living, he's a big supporter of smaller houses "so we can have great gardens".

After the experience of so many people being cooped up inside during the pandemic, will the garden make a comeback?

Hamilton's Geoff McTaggart hopes Topics readers can settle a difference of opinion.

He believes Keith's Kitchen was in Hunter Street in the early 1950s. Other folks he knows believe it was in Pacific Street.

"Some of your readers would know for sure," Geoff said.

"It was a very well known hamburger place. I remember going there with my parents. I was only 15 or 16 at the time."

What flowers grow under your nose? Tulips.

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