Five houses to visit during Open House Melbourne 2023

Private home tours are back at the popular Open House Melbourne program, in which the public is invited to explore the city's iconic and contemporary architecture.

More than 180 buildings, tours, events and design talks are on offer during the last weekend of July, including 16 contemporary and historic houses across Melbourne.

We combed through the program, found five of the best houses to visit, and made an itinerary - so you don't have to.

The owners of this Hawthorn home approached Agius Scorpo to create a flexible studio for their adult son, a utility shed and a pool in their existing backyard. The solution was a serpentine fence that unified all the elements and avoided littering the garden with disparate structures.

Read the review by Houses editor Alexa Kempton.

This compact home accommodates a family of five on a tiny site of 250 square metres and internal area of 78 square metres. It is also certified Passive House Premium - which means it produces more energy than it uses - and is rated the highest category in Life Cycle Assessment. The project shows how we can build better houses in Australia.

This freestanding house is tucked behind a single-fronted worker's cottage in North Melbourne. It accommodates three bedrooms in its 110-square-metres footprint. A sweeping curved ceiling defines the open-plan living, dining and kitchen zones.

Read the profile of Foomann by Peter Davies.

This 1917 home is part of Glenard Estate in Eaglemont, designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. The home was initially designed by Roy Lippinscott, who was the Griffin's head draughtsman, and Walter's sister Genevieve. It is located next door to Walter and Marion's own home, Pholiota.

Australia's leaky homes directly contribute to high energy consumption. This house demonstrates how a typical 1950s suburban weatherboard home can be retrofitted with passive house principles to prioritize energy efficiency, comfort and affordability. It also demonstrates how materials that are already on site can be reused.

The 2023 Open House Melbourne will take place on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 July. The first ticket release will take place at 12 noon on 6 July, and the second will be at 10 am on 8 July.