Australia's Best Apartment Designs for 2026: A Photo Essay

The Guardian showcases 20 exemplary apartment renovations across Australia, highlighting innovative design solutions that prioritize sustainability, flexibility, and heritage sensitivity. Notable projects include Neometro's Brunswick apartment in Melbourne, which uses custom joinery instead of walls; Billy Maynard Architects' art deco revival in Sydney's 'Apartment on the Loop'; and Kieran McInerney's 27 sq metre warehouse conversion in Sydney's inner west. Many projects emphasize reuse, such as Patchwork Elizabeth Bay by Other Architects, which salvaged marble offcuts from a bin, and Rose Terraces by Luigi Rosselli Architects, built from cross-laminated timber with repurposed bricks. The collection demonstrates a trend toward adaptive reuse, with designers like Espinosa Studio drawing on the modernist concept of Existenzminimum to maximize small spaces. Several projects, including The PentHouse by Austin Maynard Architects and Ruby by Brad Swartz Architects, focus on aging in place and flexible layouts. The feature underscores a shift away from carbon-intensive demolition toward sensitive renovation, with many apartments achieving improved thermal performance and reduced energy use.