When creative director Jessica Lillico and photographer Sean Fennessy began house hunting in Melbourne’s outer north-east five years ago, they discovered some incredible handcrafted homes built ‘of the land’ from mud bricks and recycled timber.

These houses captured the mood of those searching for an alternative way of life close to nature, but they had seldom been documented.

Jess and Sean purchased one of them — the Fisher House in Warrandyte designed in 1969 by Alistair Knox — and began reaching out to similar properties to start charting their collective history.

The result is Bush Modern, a beautiful book and record of the area’s extraordinary architectural character and legacy, spearheaded by Knox.

The title acknowledges the style’s dual influences — modernism and Australia’s rural vernacular architecture — as well its strong environmental ethos.

‘Knox wasn’t a qualified architect, but he understood modernism — he just made it his own, giving it a distinctly Australian character through materials and forms drawn from farm sheds and the rural vernacular,’ says Sean.

Researching the area’s homes felt like a bit of a treasure hunt. ‘We trawled old real estate listings, searched the heritage register, posted on Instagram and local forums, and even did some letterbox drops to houses that simply caught our eye,’ Sean says.

‘Most people were very receptive to the idea that we wanted to document and celebrate the local architecture.’

The couple photographed 23 homes built from 1940 to 2001 in the process, and uncovered numerous stories along the way.

‘One of the homes hosted Mick Jagger at a party when he was in Australia filming Ned Kelly. Apparently he slept over!’ says Jessica.

‘Stonygrad, which is easily the most experimental of the homes, was something of an artist colony and was where Sidney Nolan finished off some of his Ned Kelly Series.’

What makes these homes so special is their context — often designed and built by their owners, at a time when affordability and relaxed council regulations made it possible for ordinary people to do so.

‘The terrain was also difficult, so there was a certain type of independent and creative spirit who was up for the challenge,’ says Jessica.

‘The result is a collection of houses that feel inventive, individual, and firmly rooted in their place.’

‘Bush Modern’ by Jessica Lillico and Sean Fennessy, published by Thames & Hudson Australia, RRP $85, is available from November 4. Pre-order your copy here.