A pattern book is a library of pre-designed, pre-qualified home plans that can be used to build quality housing without commissioning an entirely new design each time. The Canberra House Pattern Book will provide a set of these designs for missing middle housing, like dual and tri occupancies,  townhouses and terraces, making good design more accessible across Canberra.

It's not a new idea either. Throughout its history, Canberra has turned to repeatable, pre-designed homes to meet housing demand quickly, particularly during periods of fast growth. When the public service moved to Canberra in the 1920s, standard house designs were built across suburbs such as Reid and Forrest, and the approach continued for decades, including duplexes. Walk down many of Canberra's older streets and you'll pass homes that started out this way, built from a shared design rather than a one-off.

Canberra is growing fast. To support this growth, the ACT Government aims to enable 30,000 new homes by 2030. Meeting this goal isn't just about building more houses, it's about making sure new homes offer real housing choice. With limited undeveloped land left, Canberra needs to make better use of its existing suburbs.

Right now, most homes in Canberra are either standalone houses or high-rise apartments, leaving a gap for more diverse options, known as missing middle housing. Missing middle housing includes low-rise:

  • Multi-occupancy housing, such as dual and tri-occupancy homes
  • Townhouses and terraces
  • Apartments up to three storeys

The Canberra House Pattern Book is designed to close that gap. Once complete, it will give builders, developers and landowners access to a growing library of designs developed by architects and building designers through a national design competition, paired with a faster path through planning. The designs will suit a range of block types, lifestyles and life stages, from young families to people ageing in place. For Canberrans, it means more choice of well-designed homes in the suburbs they already know and love.