David Barr Architect
Located in Fremantle WA, David Barr Architect seeks honesty and regional appropriateness with each project. Innovative solutions are crafted through rigorous research, analysis and programmatic responsiveness. Each work embodies an understanding of site, programme and human occupation. These notions are explored through the fundamentals of volume, light and material composition to create an atmospheric architectural design solution.
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Projects:
Westbury
Bicton, 2011
A 60 square metre alterations and addition to the rear of an existing Federation brick and tile house. The project is formally manipulated to sculpt light into the various spaces for both function and atmosphere. Funnelled light from the north, reflected light from the east, filtered zenithal light from above and a scooped ambient light enters from the south.
BEACH
Coogee, 2012
A residence for a young couple and their future family. The project is conceived of as a combination of the humble qualities of a West-Australian beach shack and the climatic and underside-utility benefits of a Queenslander. The house is lofted above a natural limestone outcrop which becomes a shaded garden terrain below the belly of the home above. The plan of the house is rationally divided into day and night zones with the separating corridor fattening at one end to become a study nook. West facing windows are minimised to shield the house from the searing afternoon sun. This ‘blankness’ is regulated by two ‘flicks’ in the wall, one opening toward the south-west to scoop in the ‘Fremantle doctor’ for cooling and the other towards the north to frame a view up the coast and to monitor the driveway below. A generous outdoor room to the north-west capitalises on panoramic views of the Indian Ocean. A small room is tucked under the house at the rear, providing a flexible space that could be a 4th bedroom, back-yard pavilion, home office, or games room. Overall, it is a residence that challenges the conventions of detached housing in Perth: small, lifted above the ground, no front door, no garage, no front fence, no brick… a beach house in the suburbs.
YEOVIL
Bicton, 2013
Located on the edge of the Swan River in Bicton, the residential addition is offset from the existing federation brick and tile house to create two external spaces. The existing hallway is extended, and becomes a black scaleless void which leads to the new living quarters. An exposed chipboard, part of the structural insulated panel, is punctured with a series of apertures from the north, east, south and west, providing a light filled space. Views outward capture the native vegetation in the backyard and beyond the site to a nearby local parks.
