Burt St House

Designer: Kate Moore and Gian Tonossi

Photographer: Nicholas Putrasia

Burt Street House, Walyalup is an experiment in small spaces and big tables. This house is one of two semi-detached cottages built using limestone from the quarry on which they sit.

Rear extensions to the two cottages work together in a plan of interlocking courtyards and volumes, connected by a small timber gate. The house we are presenting belongs to our family and the other to our neighbours.

Our brief was to bring the outdoor bathroom inside and facilitate a sunny, wind protected courtyard despite a challenging south-west orientation.

While the existing 1890s floor plan has been left largely unaltered, some small interventions such as skylights, shelving and the reinstatement of a highlight window have been introduced.

The new rear extension to the main house contains a kitchen, bathroom and mezzanine study. The addition is just two metres deep and as tall as it can be to include a mezzanine without overly shading the courtyard. This vertical volume is anchored by a generous dining table and forms the new heart of the house.

A separate outbuilding has been positioned on the rear boundary to accommodate a second table for work and art. This structure functions as a bike and tool store, windbreak and night lantern for the courtyard.

The outbuilding floor level aligns with the existing south boundary driveway, inbuilding future opportunities for connection between the sites.

Budget and brief were achieved by taking an ‘as found’ approach.

The proportions of existing rooms have been respected. The temptation to carve up their relatively generous dimensions into multiple spaces was resisted in favour of an economical approach that is also deferential to the building’s heritage.

Materials are generally raw and robust. Concrete, polished plaster, brickwork and natural timber. Priority was given to materials directly re-purposed from the existing house or recycled locally off-site.

White capstone excavated to make way for the footings of the outbuilding now form steps and seats in the courtyard. Existing red brick walls were either painted or left as face brick, and existing jarrah pickets were adapted to make a new boundary fence. Internally, solid timber cabinets from the bedrooms were repurposed into shelving.

We look forward to seeing you at Burt St House!

Address will be released closer to the OHP24 weekend.

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