Mother-Sight began when Sher looked at family rooms through the eyes of a person caring for children throughout the day. Parents love their children. They also need to cook, bathe, study, make things, speak to one another and sometimes just sit. A conventional floor plan can turn those activities into a chain of interruptions because the children are hidden behind walls or the supplies are scattered across separate rooms.

Our mother-sighted house places protected play, washing, family seating and child-care points where they can work together. Good sightlines and intelligible thresholds let a mother or father remain naturally aware of younger children. Older children acquire independence as they become able to use the compound and the neighbourhood safely. The home becomes a companion in the work of raising a family.

We have authored sleeping pods, child cocoons, wraparound verandahs, child toilets, wash places, return rooms, child-ready storage and care docks that join into a family sequence. Each element carries some part of the labour that would otherwise return to the parent’s body. The aim is beautiful, comfortable parenting.

Sher authored these details while caring for our own children beside me. The source of the intelligence is close to the life being served. The resulting architecture can give parents better rest, happier mornings and more time to love the people inside the house.