Designing the Site to Work Harder
- Geoff Wilkinson
- Jul 26, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 31, 2025
Why every metre matters more than you think
When most people start a project—whether it’s a house, a duplex, or a small development—they begin with the building.
Where will the living room go?
How big is the kitchen?
What’s the floor plan?
But here’s the truth:
The building is only half the story.
The other half is the land itself.
And if you ignore the site, you’re leaving potential on the table.
The Forgotten Surface
The site isn’t just a patch of dirt to build on.
It’s a spatial sequence.
A living rhythm that moves from front to back, side to side, and sometimes even top to bottom.
But too often, sites are treated as passive containers:
Boundaries marked, boxes dropped in.
Fences raised, privacy sacrificed.
Outdoor areas squeezed into whatever space is left.
The result?
Homes that feel boxed in.
Living spaces that don’t breathe.
Gardens that are never used.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
The Site as a Sequence
At Altira, we treat the site like a story—told in three acts:
The Threshold
This is the entry, the welcome, the soft landing.
It could be a forecourt, a garden gate, or a shaded bench under a tree.
It marks the shift from street to sanctuary.
The Outdoor Rooms
These are not just ‘yards’. They’re spatial characters in your life.
A courtyard for light and pause.
A rear garden for meals, play, or ritual.
A side path turned into a green retreat.
The Access + Service Zones
Think bins, bikes, storage, laneways.
These often get tacked on last. We bring them forward—planned in from the start.
Hidden where they need to be. Accessible when they matter.
Every site—whether 10 metres wide or 15—has this potential. It just needs to be unlocked with clarity, intention, and flow.
Orientation is Performance
We don’t need gadgets to make a home perform well. We need better use of sun, wind, shade, and shape.
When your site is oriented well:
Mornings fill the kitchen with golden light.
Courtyards cool the air naturally.
Overhangs and trees reduce glare and heat.
Breezes move through, guided by openings and form.
These are design decisions.
Not add-ons.
And they begin by walking the land with care - not drawing from the middle out.
When 10 Metres Outperforms 15
Here’s a quiet revolution:
A 10m wide site, designed well, can outperform a 15m site used poorly.
Why?
Because every metre earns its keep:
The forecourt isn’t just leftover paving—it’s an arrival space.
The courtyard isn’t just a patch of grass—it’s light, privacy, and calm.
The laneway isn’t just access—it’s a place for bikes, bins, and possibility.
When you stop seeing the site as a boundary - and start seeing it as a canvas - everything shifts.
Designing for Intergenerational & Dual-Key Living
This approach becomes even more powerful when:
Two generations share a site.
A renter uses a rear studio.
A guest suite becomes short-stay income.
By zoning front, middle, and back with intention, you unlock privacy, dignity, and flexibility.
Everyone gets their own rhythm.
The site works harder, without feeling crowded.
What This Means for You
Before you look at floor plans, pause.
Stand on your site—or imagine it—and ask:
How could the front welcome and transition?
How could the middle hold light and life?
How could the back do more than hide bins?
Sketch a line from the gate to the rear fence.
Now break it into three zones.
That’s your spatial sequence.
That’s your foundation—before a single wall is drawn.
The Altira Site Logic (at a glance)
Zone
Use
Feeling
Function
Threshold
Forecourt, garden gate
Welcome, pause
Arrival & transition
Outdoor Rooms
Courtyard, garden, terrace
Light, retreat, connection
Living extension
Service Zones
Laneway, rear path, side storage
Invisible ease
Function without friction
The Takeaway
You don’t need a massive lot to build a powerful space. You just need a site that works harder.
Design isn’t just what you build.
It’s how you use what you already have - beautifully, meaningfully, and wisely.
So next time you think about your home or project, remember:
The land is not just ground.
It’s the beginning of everything.
✍️ Reflection Prompt
“Sketch front → middle → back. How could each part do more?”
Ready to Design a Site That Works Harder?
→ Explore the Altira Roadmap
Your first step toward building a space with beauty, clarity, and long-term value.
