East Fremantle House

The East Fremantle House is a contextually responsive addition to a heritage cottage in suburban Perth. The most important part of this house is the space that is not built - specifically, a large northern void - a space for sun, light, sky, sound, and breeze to inhabit. Formally, the house is expressed in four parts; the existing brick cottage, an entry link, the ground floor addition, and the first floor addition. The entry link acts as a mediating point, the connective tissue between the elements. Dark, hard and solemn. On the southern face, the ancillary program elements are expressed as ‘lumps’; a tall triangular chimney for the fireplace, a curved north facing shell for an art wall, a low top-lit box for the kitchen, and a high round cylinder for a powder room. Photography: Dion Robeson