Dunny lanes of Sydney: Hidden opportunity could address housing crisis

Nobody was interested in buying the sloping, irregularly shaped block backing on to a lane once used by dunny men to service outside loos. Except architect David Langston-Jones.

Langston-Jones’ transformation of a 155 square metre site on Little Young Street, Redfern, into two identical homes, each with a private zen garden, was one of 126 projects shortlisted in this year’s NSW Architecture Awards.

David Langston-Jones looks out over his zen garden. Credit: Rhett Wyman

Where others saw garbage bins, a mess of homes, ugly garages and neighbours overlooking the site, Langston-Jones saw increased density.

When the block with an old house came up for sale, he paced the street frontage, measuring 14 metres wide. “That’s another two houses,” he recalled thinking.

The architect, who learnt last week that his project was shortlisted in the new homes category, said there was too much focus on building high-rise apartments to solve the housing crisis.

Sydney’s back lanes were rich with blocks that, with some imagination and skill to block out neighbours, could become infill housing, doubling or tripling density.

Interior of one of the David Langston-Jones houses in Redfern.Credit: Rhett Wyman

“I think is a very necessary alternative to those kinds of pervasive apartment developments,” he said. “I like to make use of those bits of land that people don’t know what to do with … That’s what architects are for. Now we have a nice house in a central location that feels warm and friendly.”

The lane didn’t have the heritage value of nearby streets, Langston-Jones said, so getting council approval was fast.

When these laneways were built, few people entered from the back, except for the dunny men, who removed nightsoil from outside toilets. Today, residents use the laneways for garage access.

Adam Haddow, president of the NSW chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, said this year’s entrants included a higher-than-ever percentage of adaptive reuse projects.

Blok Modular by Vokes and Peters, a finalist in the Residential Architecture Houses category.Credit: Christopher Frederick Jones

Entries for new homes included more dwellings on small and unusual blocks.

To screen out neighbours, Langston-Jones used glass widely – but not where it was usually found. Some windows are very low, for example.

He inverted the conventional home plan, putting bedrooms below the living area.

Sydney Swans’ new headquarters by Populous was shortlisted for the 2024 NSW Architecture Awards. Credit: Scott Burrows

Many shortlisted projects used internal courtyards to provide green space and privacy when properties were overlooked by neighbours.

Only one, though, included a raked gravel garden designed by a zen master – 18th-generation garden designer Shunmyo Masuno – Langston-Jones’ two-bedroom home in Redfern.

Via Zoom from Japan, Masuno gave precise instructions on how to prune the garden’s dwarf maple. He was nervous about the pruning of the tree. “He was like a surgeon on an operating table,” the architect said.

Lidcombe Childcare by CO-AP (Architects) was a finalist in the 2024 NSW Architecture Awards, which are part of the National Awards.Credit: Ross Honeysett

When Langston-Jones showed the video of the Zoom with the sensei to the jury, the audience laughed with delight.

The architect rakes the garden daily. He once worried that it wasn’t perfect but imperfection was part of the zen philosophy, he was told. “It gives a nice human touch,” he said.

The 126 shortlisted projects range from the development of a surf club to an aquatic centre, train stations and housing project.

Julie Power is the lay juror on this year’s new homes award in NSW.