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This project provided the opportunity to address the battleaxe block subdivision which too often sees the replacement of an ex-backyard with structures that cover the majority of the site and leave little room for gardens, a poorly defined entry sequence neglecting the home a presence in the neighborhood and a laneway lost to carparking and solid fencing.

Our brief was to fit more area for gardens and courtyards than the site itself, to flip the typical diagram and make the laneway our front door and the street our back, while opening up in party mode to the adjacent park. To make things more c hallenging we made a rule that it had to be completely compliant with the R-codes and had to be generous to its neighbors.

This home riffs on the work of Marshall Clifton and Julius Elischer and their search for an appropriate vernacular Architecture for Perth, in this case a courtyard house arranged around and within a series of seasonal garden rooms. Rough, white bagged brickwork reflects the heat of Perth’s brutal sun and provides the home’s enclosure, negating any need for boundary fencing. Glazed blue brickwork speaks to the surrounding blue tiled roofs and the exoticism of the courtyard typology. Recycled spotted Gum brings warmth to this simple palette of raw materials which exist in the same form both inside and out.

The courtyard typology forms the basis for the first principles approach to passive solar design and sustainability. Single storey to North and Northwest, two storey to South and South East, the massing optimises access to natural light and city views while providing an appropriate transition in scale from the existing single storey home adjacent.

Images courtesy of Jack Lovel