Fremantle Twin Houses
Inwardly oriented extension of side-by-side workers cottages.
Models
Illustrations
Drawings
Summary
The clients acquired the conjoined 19th-century Fremantle cottages after several years working abroad. The homes' heritage character and central location informed the initial commitment, although a re-development of both dwellings was necessary for greater liveability & comfort.
Existing Cottages
Our brief was to provide extensions to both dwellings on the singular land plot. One as a full time residence for the clients, the other for visiting family and friends.
Complex land titling arrangements, heritage interests, below ground infrastructure and difficult site access all presented challenges. Heavily trafficked right of ways or main roads surrounded the property on all sides.
Site Diagram
We found two aspects of the project particularly interesting;
Firstly, the clients desired relationship between dwellings. Two homes that could be connected or disconnected subject to whether family and friends were visiting.
Secondly, the peculiar condition the land subdivision presented. From quite early in the process we considered the site as an ‘island’, framed by vehicle paths on all sides with no immediate neighbours.
From this emerged an approach that oriented both homes inwards, providing a hard exterior to its context. A stepped linear courtyard became the focus of all new rooms in the house.
Axonometric
The narrow width of the lots led to a directly planned enfilade of new rooms for both dwellings.
From here we primarily developed the project in section through a series of working drawings to capture each slightly varied condition. While the perimeter boundary wall was technically complex, it was intentionally developed to appear simple and monolithic from the areas outside of the house.
The courtyard design was influenced by the clients and there own spatial history. Various arrangements were tested through large 3D printed 1:50 models.
The project is currently under construction and is due for completion in 2026.
1:50 Working Courtyard Model
Information
Fremantle
Private
2024 - 2025
Under Construction
Extensions
453m²
Full Services
City
Client
Year
Status
Type
Size
Services
Sion Bourne, Basim Boulos
Exeus Structural Design
The Study Group
CPR Building Approvals
My Contour Survey
DGR Building Solutions
Team
Structural
Energy
Certifier
Surveyor
Builder