Our clients came to us with a wonderful 1930s character bungalow, typical of the East Fremantle suburb. The brief for the project was to enable the home to serve the (growing) family well into the next stage of their lives.

Our primary objective from the beginning was to preserve and repurpose as much of the existing building structure as possible. A poorly conceived ‘sleep-out’ was removed while we saw value in retaining the remainder of the house as well as a large garage/store that had been built in the 90’s. The space between the rear of the house and the existing garage provided a great opportunity to link the two buildings to design a modest living, kitchen and dining space that opened to the large back yard.

The existing ‘garage’ was then upgraded and repurposed as a kid’s playroom and laundry, easily accessed from the main living areas. The original home had perfectly proportioned rooms to serve as the main bedrooms of the home, ensuring the strong heritage character of the bungalow was retained and celebrated.

The additions were conceived as only concrete floor and roof, more of an open space under a roof that linked the existing buildings as well as connecting you to the back yard. A flexible shaderunner structure enables the rear patio to be used at various times of the day and year, depending on the need for access to or protection from sunlight. A large northern timber sliding window disappears so you can sit in the sun during the winter months in the dining space.

Best of all, the modest scale of the additions meant that the back yard is really celebrated for planting, play and relaxation.

Status: Completed 2022

Project Type: Homes – alteration/addition

Client:   Private

Materials: Concrete, Timber, brick

CREDITS:

Architecture – MDC Architects

Construction – Whitford-Smith Construction

Landscape Design – ALA (Align Landscape Architecture)