SMITH ST

A part of the Fremantle alternative new urban infill design policy the Smith ST Townhouses are 2 small units at the rear of an existing established house in Fremantle’s outer suburb Beaconsfield. A complicated planning and design process due to the local council policies and restrictions pushed the design methodology into a strict format of heavy consultation and early technical advice from consultants. 7 star energy minimum, solar PV Array, Water tanks, retention of existing house and heavy landscaping zones with deep planting spaces were a base minimum requirement for approval. To achieve approvals the design process utilised a simple solution of minimising the buildings footprint on the ground floor to focus on green space. Majority of hardstands are then transferred to be grass pavers reducing the perceived visual impact and adding to the layered green spaces with large developed trees and extensive planting at lower levels. To not mimic or create a faux interpretation of the original house a bold statement of geometric shapes was used in dominate colours mixed with traditional building materials of the area in corrugated metal claddings and weatherboards. Timber framed construction methodology was adopted to retain a dominate trade on site during the entire build and aid with access issues and energy efficiency ratings.