Freo Doctor

With their history, original details and sound structure, these terraces are a much-loved element of Fremantle’s heritage. But having been designed with the low skies and long winters of England in mind, they are often unsuited to the port town’s climate – colder inside than out in winter, stuffy in summer, dark all year round. An open-plan extension often provides more light.

But as this addition proves, introducing sunlight is just the start of making a home more liveable. The house is built on a narrow site, with a north-east orientation and the neighbouring home a mere 1.2 metres away. When it came to introducing more light, the only way was up. “Our strategy was to collect northern light via three light funnels, or scoops,” Philip says. “Being able to see the changing sky and neighbouring trees is a bonus.”

These light scoops illuminate the home’s new extension, which consists of an open-plan kitchen and living area, wrapped around a central courtyard, with a corridor and stairwell leading to a garage and above it another bedroom with an ensuite and roof garden. This space can operate as a semi-self-contained apartment, increasing the home’s flexibility; currently the owner’s sister is staying.

Fremantle is known for its Mediterranean climate – hot summers alleviated by an afternoon sea breeze, nicknamed the Freo Doctor, and stormy, cold winters. In responding to this, Philip took an assertive approach, creating a home that can be opened and closed as swiftly as the weather changes. The light scoops are vented to release heat when necessary, and when the sea breeze arrives louvres, windows and hinged timber panels swing open to maximise its cooling effect.

These active features work alongside more passive elements – including concrete floor – which are soaked in winter sun, with double-glazed windows trapping the resulting warmth. In summer, roof overhangs and lattice screens shade the living areas, and the courtyard utilises timber decking and lawn, rather than paving.

Building in more storage was another priority, and bespoke cabinetry has transformed the house into a functional and organised space. The original bedrooms now have built-in wardrobes, desks and open bookshelves, and a bank of cupboards surrounds the bathroom entrance.

Incorporating storage into access paths is another way of making a constrained space feel bigger. The corridor at the rear has a daybed with under-bench storage, while a stairwell leading up to the garage and bedroom has a wall of built-in cupboards. Using sustainable hoop pine throughout brings clarity and a visual link between the old and new parts of the house.

The backyard is another study in the careful use of precious space. The corridor daybed becomes a garden seat when the window is open, connecting the house and garden. The garage doubles as an outdoor dining area, with the steps leading up to it doubling as informal perches, and the rear laneway, to which the car is relegated when the garage is in alfresco mode, is an active, neighbourly meeting place away from street traffic.

Renovating is, of course, inherently more sustainable than building a new home, and also a way of preserving the unique history of an area. While introducing many new elements to the home, Philip was also keen to echo and express the features – even the less romantic ones – that hint at its story.

The garage’s plain cream brick walls are characteristic of utilitarian additions to these homes that appeared when a postwar influx of immigrants from Sicily and Calabria transformed Fremantle. “These low-ceilinged, makeshift garage workshops were a common feature, built by the Italians without council approval and using a structural logic characterised by drastic upsizing to cover all eventualities. The concrete slab we removed was nearly half a metre thick,” says Philip.

Inside the house, an arched opening that once gave way to a porch was fitted with a boxed kitchen extension containing additional bench space and overhead cupboards. “It also has louvres to assist cross ventilation by harnessing the breezes that rip down the boundary setback,” Philip says.

Original floorboards were polished and now define the dining area and kitchen, with the living room being floored with a more thermally efficient exposed aggregate concrete. And glazing above the original hallway doors has been replicated at the entrance to the new living area. “Being able to keep a bit of what was there before adds layering,” says Philip. “It’s that notion of representing the history of the block.”