Canberra Open Homes | Secret Garden House
Sonder Architects
15 November 2026
Day + Time | Sunday | 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Location | 26 Hackett Gardens, Turner ACT 2602
Entry | General Public $35 | AIA Members $28 | Craft + Design Canberra Members $28 | Booking required
The Secret Garden House is shaped by the quiet authority of an enormous oak tree, its presence revealed through shifting glimpses and garden rooms. Three pavilions form a ‘house as landscape’, creating intimate courtyards and sunlit spaces that invite wandering, pausing and reflection.
Designed for a family across generations, the home embraces ease of living and comfort. Sustainability is embedded through sunlight, insulation and solar power working together to achieve an energy positive home. Inside, colour becomes a form of craft, echoing the owner’s love of quilt making. Outside, Canberra red bricks and spotted gum timber, root the home in place and memory.
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Sonder Architects is founded on years of professional experience and a profound respect for the human experience. The name ‘Sonder’ captures the realisation that everyone leads a life as rich and complex as our own, an insight that shapes the practice and anchors its commitment to deeply engaging with people and their ideas to craft bespoke spaces where design is both meaningful and considered.
The practice focuses on residential and community architecture, spaces that influence everyday wellbeing and allow environmental values to take priority. Sonder Architects advocates for adaptive reuse, continuing the architectural narrative through generations and across societal, technological and ecological change. The ethos is simple: build less, build better.
Creativity is at the heart of everything Sonder Architects does. With a deep understanding of the intricacies of everyday life, the practice aims to bring joy through the process of design, collaborating with artists, artisans and kindred creatives to demonstrate how thoughtful and intentional design can elevate everyday life.
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Proudly supported by Australian Institute of Architects (ACT Chapter)
Images | Sonder Architects | Secret Garden House | Photograph courtesy of Australian Institute of Architects and Sonder Architects