All the stories reflect degrees of design creativity and quality and many exhibit innovation in aspects of their design.  But because innovation is inherently risky (it may not work technically or may not attract a market), innovations between successive projects are often small scale and incremental rather than wholesale in nature (e.g. stories 2, 8, 17).  A small minority of projects, however, are defined primarily through their architectural innovation, appealing to segments of the market (or to public sector funders) that are attracted by something different.  This may be limited to stylistic innovation, but more fundamental is typological or functional innovation as demonstrated in the two stories that illustrate this route. 

The first – Roof Gardens (story 3) – offers a new urban type, re-working the back-to-back (homes with back elevations attached to each other through a shared party wall) into a modern family home while the second – Climate Innovation District (story 4) – delivers a genuine attempt to create a large scale sustainable urban neighbourhood.  Both have proved popular and viable in their local markets, with the architectural innovation, in both cases, marking them out as something different and desirable for purchasers, despite the challenging contexts in which they are located.  This requires not only architects with a capability to push design boundaries, but also developers willing to believe in and support the vision.