Swan Street Residence

In a sleepy Perth riverside suburb, Iredale Pedersen Hook’s Swan Street Residence is a re-interpretation of the suburban bungalow, with a nod to the materials and forms of the early 20th century Arts and Crafts movement. An extension of a family home, the design takes the line of the existing roof and zigzags it upwards, transforming it into an oblique new upstairs wall, which scoops over the new space like free-form origami. The additions fold and unfold, compress and release to create subtle internal relationships.

The brief required a sense of spaciousness within a small site, and safe play areas for children. The new spaces were purposely kept compact to minimise the footprint and circulation. The ground level folds in plan to connect interior and exterior spaces, maintaining a constant dynamic co-existence. The upper level achieves this quality by a large folding section; each part of this section is considered as functional space.

The roof, the design’s defining feature, was developed with wide eaves to shade both levels of windows. It folds down as a parasol wall, reducing heat loads from the hot western sun while allowing cool south-west winds.

At strategic points, the design called for transparent polycarbonate coated with a green film. The green light that filters through much of the interiors creates the illusion of landscape, and is re-emitted to the street at night, producing an effect reminiscent of the coloured glass over the entrance doors of neighbouring Federation houses.

The unusual folding form creates all kinds of similar effects, partly natural and partly manufactured: fractured prisms of light; slowly shifting sun patterns across the folding ceiling of the main bedroom; the expression and dramatisation of water flowing from the roof during a downpour.

Careful consideration was made of how the building may weather and change as a continuing dynamic experience. When the building’s jarrah battens fade to grey, for instance, it will create a pleasing and inconsistent contrast with the darkly-painted plywood cladding. The design’s scattered touches of luminous green will be further highlighted by the weathering process. Copper trims along the traditional white picket fence will leave a quite deliberate green stain as they begin to oxidise. It will complement a massy growth of green-leafed Kangaroo Paw planted along the base of the fence.

Sustainability is considered as part of the integrated whole – first and most importantly, with the decision to extend rather than demolish and rebuild. The walls are constructed from reverse brick veneer with a layer of wool insulation. Internal walls were painted white to maximise the reflectivity of the surface. The team sourced timbers that were either recycled or from Australian managed forests.

Complex and time-consuming, the design was still cost-effective. Structure and materials were selected based on cost-effectiveness, and detailing was made economical by minimising waste. The builder was introduced during the sketch design process to provide cost updates and advice, and continued to be involved through the entire project, eventually providing detailed advice during documentation. This provided benefits of cost, quality and efficiency to all parties. The engineer was also introduced during design development.

For its innovative design solutions, the Swan Street Residence won this year’s AIA Residential Alterations & Additions Architecture Award in the Western Australia chapter. +

1. Wooden decking and swimming pool. The house's folding dynamic is designed to facilitate the smooth integration of indoor and outdoor space. 2. One of the unusual interior nooks created by the irregular, zigzagging form and junctured of old and new. 3. Interiors, simply done, with green polycarbonate touches. 4. The core of the building is constructed from timber, while the folding surfaces are made of corrugated metal and glass.

PHOTOGRAPHY by Peter Bennetts