What residential architecture can learn from schools

It is a perspective that feels particularly relevant at a time when homes are expected to support more aspects of daily life than ever before. Kitchens have become workspaces, spare bedrooms double as offices and living areas need to flex between quiet retreat and social gathering space. Rather than simply designing for how people live now, Whisker Architecture encourages clients to think about how their lives may evolve over the next decade or more.

“People often think they need more space when they actually need better planning,” says Whisker.

That idea sits at the heart of the practice’s approach. Instead of immediately adding square metreage, the focus is on understanding how spaces function, where frustrations exist and how layouts can work harder. It is a philosophy strongly informed by education architecture, where budgets are often limited and every design decision needs to deliver maximum value.

“A lot of the school projects we work on have received a limited grant, and so we are looking for ways to take that budget and stretch it further,” Whisker explains.

In both schools and homes, careful planning can often achieve more than excessive building. The challenge is to create adaptable spaces.

“We need to create places designed for large gatherings, for small gatherings and for flexible gatherings,” she says, “so creating rooms with versatile usability is important.”

This thinking has become particularly important in residential architecture as clients navigate rising construction costs and increasing pressure to build more sustainably, which for Whisker, is not only about energy efficiency or material selection.

“Sustainability also means not wasting money building or renovating spaces that fundamentally don’t work,” she says.

Designing for longevity

That strategic mindset often begins before a floor plan is even drawn. Whisker says many clients arrive focused on solutions before fully understanding the underlying problem they are trying to solve.

It is here that the practice’s experience in masterplanning becomes particularly valuable. Education projects frequently require long-term staged thinking, where buildings are designed to expand, adapt or evolve over time as funding becomes available. Applying that same methodology to residential projects allows homeowners to think beyond immediate needs and create homes with greater resilience and flexibility.

That long-term thinking also extends into material selection and technical detailing. Schools are environments exposed to constant wear and tear, and the lessons learned from designing durable public buildings can directly influence residential architecture.

Whisker points to the Victorian Government’s Building Quality Standards Handbook as an example of the knowledge accumulated through hundreds of education projects.

“It is a book of what will work and what will not work from a risk management point of view,” she says.

It offers deep knowledge on durability, maintenance and construction performance. Decisions around cladding, finishes and detailing are informed not only by appearance but by how materials will age and perform over time.

“For example, profile metal cladding is very watertight, but it is not impact resistant,” Whisker explains. “Looking at ways where it can maybe be lifted off the ground by a little bit, and maybe masonry goes to a certain height on some of the walls, can protect that lightweight cladding.”

The rise of sensory design in residential architecture

The crossover between education and residential architecture also extends into sensory design. Schools increasingly need to account for neurodiversity, acoustics and the impact environments can have on wellbeing. Those same principles are becoming more relevant in homes, particularly as people spend more time living and working in shared spaces.

“For our school projects, we have to take into account neurodiversity,” says Whisker. “Understanding the sensory experience has become very important.”

That can include everything from acoustic separation between rooms to reducing reverberation and improving lighting quality. While these details may not always be immediately visible, they fundamentally shape how comfortable and functional a home feels day to day, and in domestic applications can address issues such as road noise or isolated spaces for shift workers. 

Ultimately, what education architecture brings to residential design is not simply a set of technical lessons, but a different way of thinking altogether. 

“We’re trying to help people avoid expensive decisions that don’t actually improve how they live,” Whisker says. “In education, we plan for the long term and it’s a smart way to design homes, too.”

It is a philosophy that is aligned with the realities of contemporary life, where thoughtful planning may ultimately prove more valuable than simply building bigger. For homeowners navigating the complexities of building or renovating, access to the right expertise and inspiration has never been more important. ArchiPro brings together the country’s best projects, products and professionals in one place so people can move from dreaming to doing with confidence.