Why the country's top architect has regional Australia on his watch list

While today he splits his time between Sydney and Newcastle as the director of architecture at leading firm SJB, his eyes are drawn to the details of our regional cities.

It started when he was young, growing up just outside Ararat in regional Victoria.

"Fabulously, none of the town was demolished as a result of modernism, because it was poor," he said.

"A lot of wealthy cities demolished their cores because they replaced older buildings with new ones. In lots of regional cities, that didn't happen because the money wasn't there."

A few decades on, regional areas are seeing greater housing density, about 20 years after their major city counterparts, Haddow says.

"Fantastically, for those centres, we are more mature now about thinking about what density means, and what good density is.

"Getting more people in one place is one thing, but getting more people in one place with a high level of amenity and good health and wellbeing is really important," he says.

Canberra and Newcastle, for example, have been able to approach higher density living with the lessons learnt from earlier development in Sydney and Melbourne.

He said some of the mistakes made around apartment or higher density living were over simple design elements.

This included getting the placement and mechanics around rubbish collection areas correct.

Then there were simple issues such as making sure "the sense of entry is grand and welcoming" and that there is "a level of security to homes" in a new development.

There's an excitement in his voice as we talk about design while in a showroom for Haddow's Botanical apartments in the Canberra suburb of Turner.

A woman interrupts us to complement the size of the spacious bathroom that leads directly to the walk-in wardrobe.

It's an example of a thoughtful design process.

"We don't want lazy design," Haddow tells me. "We say that when a design has wasted space."

Under Haddow's leadership, increasing numbers of architects are making the move to regional Australia.

"The nice thing about regional Australia is that ... the cities are all quite different," Haddow says.

"You've got Ballarat, Newcastle, Canberra - the architectural spirit really comes from the place itself.

"What you need to do is work out what to keep and what not to keep; what gives character and scale, and what is not that interesting.

"We like to talk about beauty, delight and joy. They're the three words that aren't used enough in architecture."

And as more Australians moved to town centres, apartment design was needed to accommodate living closer together.

Haddow's team at architecture and design firm SJB has worked out the correct height for balconies, for example, to let sun in while keeping peepers out.

"We talk about the nude factor. Can you be nude in your apartment?" he says.

Large outside spaces were also becoming a coveted asset.

That included bigger balconies, good ground-level communal spaces and established trees.

"The days of concreted courtyards are over," Haddow says.

"People want good green space in cities where they can walk to the biggest pantry they've ever had in their lives - the shops down the road."

The key to delivering that is good zoning, he says.

"You don't want pancakes," Haddow says, referring to towns where all buildings were the same height, giving a flat appearance.

"When you get pancakes, there's nothing interesting to look at in the skyline."

He's slowly tracing an imaginary skyline with his hands, undulating roofs and walkways appearing in my mind as he speaks.

Ultimately, Haddow told me, he hopes to see design in regional Australia thought of on a macro level, allowing town centres and streetscapes to land in new eras while keeping the charm of the places we all call home.