Inventive update turns a Fremantle duplex into a box of tricks

A comparatively small alteration of an 1890s cottage on Bellevue Terrace has transformed the lives of its occupants through clever manipulation of space and thoughtful use of materials. Photo: Bo Wong

When designing a new home or altering the old, how many of us stop to consider issues such as "spatial well-being"? Or how the spaces we create might psychologically and physiologically benefit occupants?

Probably not enough of us. These principles formed the basis for architect Philip Stejskal's renovation of a Fremantle duplex, completed last year, and netted him the inaugural residential alterations and additions award this week at the National Architecture Awards.

While the project involved a diminutive 20-square-metre alteration and addition to a modest 1890s cottage, it's had a revolutionary effect on the family home.

"The intervention has transformed the lives of its occupants through clever manipulation of space, inventive details and thoughtful use of materials," jury chair and Sydney architect Paul Berkemeier said.

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Brief:

The clients had a modest budget, narrow site and conventional little terrace, disconnected from the garden by a 1.5-metre drop and inconveniently placed bathroom. They wanted to forge a new relationship with the outside, and to replace an existing deck and pergola with a flexible space that was neither fully internal nor external.

Solution:

Philip created an outdoor room with a sunken bay window overlooking the garden, and a built-in seat stretched along a side wall. By wrapping the room in shutters and glazed panels, it could be thrown open or closed down to the outdoors and weather as required.

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Inventive update turns a Fremantle duplex into a box of tricks