What a courtyard does for 28 households

When we designed Bonnie Brae Courts, the courtyard was the part we had to defend most. It takes up land that could have held more homes, and the budget was fixed by public funding.

We kept it because the street already worked this way. Westlake has dozens of 1920s bungalow courts, where small houses face a shared garden. Families there told us the court was where children played within sight of the kitchen.

Four years on, the courtyard is used every day. Children play there after school. Residents run a plant swap on the first Saturday of the month. The galleries that face it work as porches, and most front doors are left open in summer.

Two things we would do again: every home has windows on two sides, so no one depends on the courtyard for air; and the pergolas over the galleries were built from simple timber sections the maintenance team can replace.

One thing we would change: the planting beds were too small. Residents have since added pots along every edge.