Local Character

The tiny suburb of Highgate in Perth still has many of its original buildings, including grand Federation homes, narrow workers’ cottages and a heritage-listed red-brick primary school, built in 1895 and one of the oldest in Western Australia. All these existing elements drove the design of architect Felix Oefelein’s family home, a modern take on a gable-roofed character home, built in what was the backyard of a sub-divided Federation property.

“We were living in the area, and we liked being close to the city for my work [as an architect at HASSELL], and Hyde Park for our kids. We knew that to stay here we could either buy an unrenovated character house or land, which doesn’t come up very often,” says Felix. “But after renting a very old weatherboard house we’d had enough character for a while, so when this block came up, we bought it.”

The first challenge was designing something that would make the most of the modest 168-square-metre site. Going up and out as far as possible was key to creating something that would feel generous and accommodate a family of four, so the home extends out to the boundaries on either side and has a third level contained within the gable roof space.

Felix chose bricks as they are timeless and robust, eventually opting for a one-off design that had been created for a HASSELL-designed apartment building nearby.

“Every time we drove past the building site we commented on the bricks, and eventually I contacted Midland Brick and secured enough for the build. We had some cut in half in the factory to be laid in a Flemish bond pattern, common to many historical brick buildings in the area.”

These plum-red bricks contrast with black ceramic tiles and timber panels, which articulate the façade from the street and add depth and colour. Felix used charred timber as “it lasts forever, insects don’t like it, and it looks great.”

“I spent hours charring these by hand with a friend, trying out the Japanese shou sugi ban technique, and then our tiling supplier, who has a Japanese wife, came round and told me you can buy precharred timber at any hardware store in Japan, and if he’d known what I was up to he would have shipped me some.”

side, the materials palette is restricted to timber, concrete and white walls, creating a neutral backdrop for furnishings. The north-facing ground floor is open-plan, with an off-form concrete ceiling for coolness in summer and warmth in winter.

An inline kitchen at one end includes a large pantry, an oversized dining table and a built-in desk to keep the space tidy. Sheer white curtains run along the north-facing wall, softening the summer light and creating a feeling of enclosure at night time. By day, the living area opens up to the garden, and on weekends the car is relegated to the street to create extra outdoor space.

A wide central hallway links three sizeable bedrooms and two bathrooms on the first floor. By cantilevering the first-floor concrete slab out over the back garden, Felix was able to create a shaded alfresco area and also steal an extra 30-square-metres of living space on the first and second levels. The couple’s children quickly commandeered the loft level for a playroom. Felix’s handbuilt timber workbench, used throughout the home’s construction, is now child-height, painted black, and covered in Lego buildings.

Circulation areas, such as the stairwell, are deliberately generous. Felix built much of the stairwell himself, hoisting pre-cut oak balustrades into place with the help of friends and crafting a timber screen that overlooks the living area.

“I knew with three levels we’d be using the stairs a lot so I wanted to make the journey enjoyable, with lots of light and space.”

Rooftop solar panels offset the home’s energy needs, along with passive features, including louvres and a sun-shading exterior blind on the home’s only large west-facing window. And the home’s central location reduces car use – the local primary school is across the road, and Felix cycles into work.

Coming from Germany, Felix also wanted cosy winter ambience, so included high-performance glazing and a wood-burning stove, which heats every level via an open flue that runs through the house and up to the roof.

Highgate was once used for market gardens, irrigated by the nearby wetlands that are now Hyde Park, and the land here is still productive, thanks to the long-established Italian and Vietnamese families who grow produce in their backyards. Outside, any available space has been greened with natives and edible plants, all the way out to the rear laneway, where the neighbours’ pomegranate, white mulberry, dragon fruit and papaya trees hang over back fences and fennel plants sprout from every crevice.

The home’s large windows, framed with oak reveals, provide long views of the city skyline and, from the northern side, silvery olive trees and lush back gardens, belying the inner-city location.

“What we like about this house is that it feels very connected to its surroundings,” says Felix. “Looking out over the rooftops, seeing the wind and clouds move and the weather fronts roll in over the CBD. Watching new buildings appear, like the WA Museum. It’s a house that’s animated by views.”

The writer is Felix Oefelein’s partner.