The Architect

It is a truth universally acknowledged that nothing brings a community together quite like the local pub. A hub for gatherings and haven for hedonists, the local pub acts as the neighbourhood nucleus, and as such, should look like it too. The town of Bassendean is layered in heritage and hums with the history of a bygone era. And so, one would expect exactly that of the newly renovated Bassendean Hotel. After ninety years of continuous trade, the Basso (as it is known colloquially) ensured that Woods Bagot had their work cut out for them.

Nestled into the heritage neighbourhood of Mount Lawley, Celilo Springs by architect and owner-builder Andrew Boyne is a uniquely crafted home that works to enhance the character of suburban Western Australian homes.

In the resplendent heart of Perth’s State Buildings complex stands the award-winning Postal Hall project – a testament to architectural ingenuity and poetic vision of designers Trower Falvo Architects with Alessio Fini. The State Buildings, a collection of iconic heritage structures, seamlessly connect pedestrians with a harmonious blend of gastronomy, retail, and luxurious accommodation at the junction of St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street.

Central Park has been a business icon in Perth since its introduction to the Terrace in the early 1990s. As one of the tallest buildings, and the only public green space in the heart of the CBD, it has long been an attractor of people. After winning the masterplan design competition for the area, Woods Bagot led the team that transformed Central Park’s public ground-floor space.

Inlet Drive Residence by PTX Architects is situated on a picturesque site, the owner drawn to the location by strong emotions linked to memories of holidays spent fishing in a tinnie on the Wilson Inlet with his father.

Built for his sister and her young family, archterra’s Paddock House is an exercise in functional simplicity. Although not limited by space, the family home is efficient in its layout and orientation.

Typical of the era, Beaconsfield House, in its original form, was a timber-framed cottage clad with jarrah and asbestos. While many would have chosen to demolish the building and rebuild, the owners bravely committed to preserving and regenerating the original home. They sought the creation of extra space and the modernisation of the home that they had lived in for over 20 years. The result is a respectful exercise in integrity and sculptural simplicity.

Hyde Park House is located on busy Vincent Street adjacent to Perth’s iconic Hyde Park. On first glance the house is oddly nostalgic, its rich textures and materiality seamlessly blending into the existing heritage streetscape. However, on closer inspection it is evident that the house is the product of a robust yet delicate design process from Simone Robeson and Lauren Benson at Robeson Architects.

Located on a busy neighbourhood artery, Do Residence by Chindarsi Architects is a substantial renovation to an existing brick home. But from the street the extension is nearly invisible, and the streetscape is preserved.

If you were restricted to using a single adjective to describe Casa Mia, the self-designed home of Adrian Iredale and Caroline Di Costa, you may well settle on ‘considered’.

Approaching the renovations and additions to this home, architects vittinoAshe sought to create something that mediates the uniquely well-preserved historic fabric of the neighbourhood with a client brief centred around contemporary ideas for healthy and sustainable family living.

Introducing medium density into an established, low-density neighbourhood presents a variety of challenges. 95 Evans Street by MJA Studio is a respectful insertion into an inter-war neighbourhood showing sensitivity to the suburb’s existing context and character.

Higham Road House by Philip Stejskal Architecture has been expertly woven into the historic fabric of its neighbourhood, serving as an exemplar of how heritage, retained and celebrated, can inform and enrich design solutions to provide beautiful, functional spaces for a family to live and grow.

Haldane is a modestly-sized residence on a subdivided block in Mount Claremont. Designed by Orialle Pearce Design, the house encapsulates the calmness, warmth and relaxation of a summer’s day on Perth’s beaches. Translating this into built form drove design outcomes for the home’s layout, profile, orientation and materality.

Standing proudly on Ballardong Nyoongar land, Iredale Pedersen Hook’s Bilya Koort Boodja (meaning “river, heart, land”) recognises the importance of country while acknowledging that this recognition has not always been given.

The iconic Parmelia Hilton hotel has undergone a series of minor renovations since its opening in the 1960s. However, in late 2017 COX Architecture, along with their client, Hawaiian, considered how the hotel could be re-imagined – both physically and more broadly in the contemporary urban fabric in which it is located.

Through the eyes of a child, one could believe that the Kids’ Bridge (Koolangka Bridge) – funded by Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation and original design by Fratelle+BEaM – is a twisting rainbow coloured serpent disappearing into the trees of King’s Park. Despite undergoing several design iterations, industry and market fluctuations, this fundamental idea was a constant for architect and Fratelle Director Kylee Schoonens.

Our spatial experience of architecture is not simply shaped by the physical reality that buildings impart on us but also by the past experiences we bring to them. This is why our own memories play such a significant role in predetermining our innate sense of wellbeing and comfort in a new place. The aged-care spaces of Karingal Green by Hassell epitomise this understanding.

Just north of the Fremantle markets sits the Warders Hotel, guarded by the shadow of the prison after which its image was shaped. As a national heritage-listed building, the project brief tied in very well with architect Matthew Crawford’s view that heritage should be adaptively reused, not changed.

spaceagency approaches each project with a rigour and attention to detail that allows it to deliver projects instilled with a sense of history, currency and longevity.