What if your home was not just your castle – a refuge for you and your family – but also a sculptural addition to the streetscape? That’s the sort of thought that crossed architect Michael Leeton’s mind when responding to a brief to create an inner-suburban Melbourne home for a couple with two children.

“We wanted to break down the public/private threshold and create a building that would also function as a neighbourhood asset,” he says. “So, we began by removing the original fence, opening the block up so the house could engage with the street.”