Positioning the past: Orient St House

In the beginning, Perth architect Philip Stejskal was unaware of the multilayered history lying dormant on this residential site in South Fremantle. A modest masonry cottage constructed in 1924 and rear additions completed during the 1950s had partially concealed the remains of a stable – constructed with limestone rubble walls – dating back to 1896. “Once we realized those relics were there, we started thinking about the project as an archeological dig,” Philip says. “Rather than the stable having a token presence, we wanted it to spatially influence new rooms and inform how they would work.”

Contemporary additions were designed to straddle the stable walls, therefore enclosing and protecting them. An expressed timber post-and-beam structure was introduced to support contemporary space, extending from the back of the original cottage and weaving around and over the limestone rubble walls. Inside the semi-enclosure made by the old stable, the kitchen is carefully positioned. “We wanted the kitchen to have a front-of-house presence,” Philip says. “Putting the kitchen here allowed us to co-locate it with views to the old stove in the courtyard.”

Gathered at the centre of the kitchen are all the functional elements, wrapped in one neat Tasmanian oak joinery unit. Cooktop and sink sit on top of the reconstituted stone bench, while fridge, drawers and cupboards pull out to fulfil the requirements of refrigeration, cooking and cleaning. Two existing doorways in the limestone walls are used to give access to a scullery tucked in behind and to create a shallow pantry in the void left by the old door. Overhead storage and extraction are suspended above, ensuring that the stable walls remain untouched. This compact and clever kitchen reserves visual primacy for the historic limestone rubble, bathed in sunlight pouring down from above.

A new staircase positioned on the outside of the stable walls – but inside the contemporary envelope – connects the ground to the upper floors. Upstairs, the sleeping chamber and ensuite create a grown-ups’ retreat elevated above the garden. Wrapped in timber battens, the shower room of the ensuite provides sanctuary and privacy while offering views out across the suburb. Downstairs, the children’s bathroom also fosters a meditative mood while borrowing from contemporary rooms its material palette of dark colour tones and dramatic lighting effects. “The circular bath is intended as a place of restoration and introspection,” Philip says. “The freestanding faucet and ceiling-mounted rain showerhead were selected to support the idea of relaxation.”