Architecture Architecture

There is something disarming about an architect being caught unawares by a project’s popularity, not through lack of belief or false humility but rather the genuine surprise that comes from a humble project tapping into the Zeitgeist.

“When we finished the Cairo apartment (2012; see Houses 98), there was this growing interest in small-footprint living. It was just that moment,” says Michael Roper, one of the design directors of Architecture Architecture – and the owner of the apartment in question.

At a compact 24 square metres, the apartment is a heritage gem in Melbourne’s much-loved Cairo apartments,