A Modern Rural Home – Courtyard House by CHROFI

Words by Olivia Hides
Architecture by CHROFI
Photography by Clinton Weaver
Build by FABPREFAB
Landscape Architecture Somewhere Landscape Architects

Inspired by the need to create a robust reinterpretation of the traditional rural Australian home, Courtyard House by CHROFI is a prefabricated building that pushes boundaries, embodying quiet solitude and environmental synergy.

Courtyard House was poised with an initial challenge – to create a uniquely fitting structure that not only worked as part of its surrounding landscape but also stood as a flexible form, suitable for modern living. In response, CHROFI designed a series of modules to fit together around a central intimate courtyard.

CHROFI designed a series of modules to fit together around a central intimate courtyard.

The home’s courtyard grounds and connects the structure, while ensuring the living spaces remain connected to the surrounding environment. There is a large sliding screen at the rear of the space, which allows the courtyard to open up out into the landscape or remain a more private area for its owners. The site is relatively isolated, and Courtyard House sits within the land unimposingly. The natural colour palette of the exterior and interior similarly aims to create a blend between form and landscape.

Courtyard House was built by FABPREFAB, with the entire construction process completed off site in its production facility in Somersby, and the final home brought to Hawks Nest on the back of a truck. The materials used were purposefully chosen due to their physical lightness, as the home had to be light enough to travel, whilst ensuring it would also sit lightly on the ground without causing further degradation to the site. Courtyard House also drew on the additional benefit of prefabricated homes, with their ability to produce quality structures in controlled facilities, protected against the elements during construction.

The home’s courtyard grounds and connects the structure, without closing the living spaces off from its adjacent environment.

The garden was designed by Somewhere Landscape Architects, bringing unexpected depth to the structure. The modules connect around this external space, with large windows bringing in light and views of the garden, contributing as an integral aspect to the internal living spaces. Similarly, the home’s verandah was redesigned to become a larger, outdoor room, decidedly a space for living and dining. Within the relatively simple structure, these unexpected features allow Courtyard House to remain in constant contact with its surrounds.

Courtyard House is an award-winning pr-fabricated home, where CHROFI has purposefully created unexpected and versatile spaces that speak to the harshness of the rural Australian environment, connecting the structure to the land.