Located on a small inner-city site in Mount Lawley, Western Australia, this home by State of Kin is constructed with red brick sourced from a demolition site nearby. The reuse and celebration of this locally sourced material form the cornerstone of the design with the colour and finish of the bricks harkening back to their previous lives, along with beige, blue and green paint layers retained in portions.
Creating the illusion of a renovated heritage factory despite being newly built, a saw-toothed roof form heavily influences the building’s silhouette and personality while functionally, clerestory windows within the angles facing west feature openable louvres for cross-ventilation.
Traditional bricklaying and construction methods utilised throughout the home are applied to contemporary shapes in unconventional contexts. For example, Jali style hit-and-miss laying techniques were used for the walls of the lift shaft, resulting in a permeable layer that exposes the lifts mechanisms and movements.
Arches are layered as somewhat traditional forms but with the scale exaggerated to keep them fresh; bricks feature in a herringbone pattern on the ceiling of the cellar while black lines of steel and cabinetry are clean and sharp against the texture of the brick.
Fully taking advantage of the property’s north-facing perspective, large double-glazed circular windows allow spectacular light to infiltrate within while ensuring thermal efficiency and opening the façade of the home on both aspects.
Whilst the aesthetic is undeniably very industrial and raw, the ambience of the home is textural, open and warm.
