M&T HOUSE

A new build on an old duplex site located in a beautiful tree lined street in the East Fremantle heritage area. Due to the old subdivision following the line of the duplex dividing wall it left the site with an 8.4m frontage. Darklight were engaged in collaboration with Arklen Developments to find a solution for a single story family home that had all the aspects of a modern design. The solution was to create a series of courtyards that allowed for pockets of natural light and greenery to permeate the house, with a long passage that connects the front bedrooms to the rear living areas. High windows allowed for additional northern sun to filter into southern rooms. The rear of the lot is slightly wider than the front and the design focus was on utilizing northern sun patterns to light the core living areas. In a suburb that mainly has wide street frontages, the unusual block faced complex issues with the local council planning policies. A single garage is pushed back from the street front allowing for a secondary car bay. Staggered boundary wall structures were used where possible to maximize the useable area of the lot until it widens at the rear. A modern take of a traditional saw tooth roof provided a dominant structure on the small footprint visible from the street. Use of traditional materials in recycled brick, concrete and metal cladding was chosen.