David Barr Architects are located in Fremantle, WA, and Canberra, ACT, and are specialized in residential architecture. Their collaborative approach to creating aesthetic spaces regardless of their scale and budget leads them to design many award-winning buildings. They pay attention to the overall form as well as in the fine details. This process, besides making the projects sustainable and affordable, also enables the buildings to create a positive impact over the inhabitants. They follow both traditional and digital technology for project development and get involved in every stage of the design and construction process.
Here is a list of 15 projects by David Barr Architects:
1. Marine Residence
A two-storied rear addition is designed to an existing brick cottage, reflecting the casual and warm lifestyle of the client. There are north-facing dining and kitchen on the ground floor and a master bedroom with a toilet and a balcony on the upper floor. With the elevation, consisting of chamfered walls of textured white brick with timber layers at some places, this sculptural addition sits prominently on a raised corner block. This project was shortlisted in the Houses Awards 2020 in the ‘Alteration and Addition over 200 sq. m. category’.
2. King Residence
A two-story penthouse in an aging brick building has been transformed into a three-bedroom luxurious apartment. The design process followed a collaborative approach with the client and completed in a few months, incorporating many arts and sculptures. This project was shortlisted in the Houses Awards 2020 in the ‘Apartment or Unit category’.
4. Picard Residence
This house is designed featuring the architectural style of South Beach’s industrial heritage. The warehouse appearance connects to the site’s history despite being surrounded by all pitched roof white suburban style houses. Although, to translate the client’s requirements and industrial appearance, inexpensive materials are used, the spaces are well lighted and ventilated, and have a homely vibe. This project won the Houses Awards 2019 in the ‘Sustainability’ category and was also shortlisted in the ‘New Houses over 200sqm’ category.
5. Gen Y Demonstration Housing Project
This is a multi-residential project consisting of multiple small affordable apartments. To keep the apartment costs low and foster sustainability and community interaction, many external and semi external shared spaces are designed. Besides meeting the ‘One Planet Living’ sustainability framework principles and the essential requirements of the ‘Livable Homes’ accessibility standards; this project won the National Sustainability Awards in ‘Best of the Best’ category and ‘Multiple Dwelling’ category. Gen Y project also won the AIA Architecture Award in ‘Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing’ and ‘Sustainable Architecture’ categories.
6. Claremont Residence
To add an extension to a pre-war suburban house, a series of blocks are created to accommodate the dining, living, and bedroom. These brick blocks are then separated by landscaped areas as the courtyard, formal lawn, and elevated dining area and pool. A combination of brickwork, white paint, steel, and timber elements are used externally, connecting the indoor and outdoor areas. In the interior concrete floor, white wall, and American Walnut joineries are used to add vitality for the young occupants. This project won the Architecture Award in 2016 in the ‘Alterations and Additions’ category and was shortlisted for the Houses Award for ‘Alteration and Additions’ in the same year.
7. MIKA Multiple Housing
This is a boutique residential project in the south of Fremantle, consisting of 38 apartments. The building accommodates one and two-bedroom apartments along with duplex units, designed in four levels. The total volume is designed in three segments following the site profile and each segment is overlooking different views through the courtyards and balconies. The contemporary form with a simple material palette and passive design principles used in the design allows natural light, street surveillance, energy conservation, and most importantly a connection with the historical context of the site. This project has won the AIA Architecture Award in the ‘Houses – Multiple Housing’ category.
7. Beach House
This project is designed amalgamating the qualities of West Australian beach house and Queenslander. The house is designed unconventionally by avoiding any fencing, brick wall, garage, or even front door and then lifted by creating a shaded garden and a spare room at the ground floor level. Besides incorporating design interventions to minimize the western sun and passive cooling, aesthetically also, the house is well designed and frames a view of the coastline through an opening. This project won the WA Architecture Awards in the ‘New Houses’ category and was shortlisted in the ‘Houses Publication – New Houses under 200sqm’ category.
8. Westbury Crescent Residence
An area of 60 sqm of an existing brick and tile house has been restored by addition and alteration under this project. Site context with surrounding buildings has been considered mainly to derive the form of this house. Different design interventions are followed to allow indirect sunlight from all directions inside the house and to provide privacy from the adjacent properties as well. This project won the Architecture Award under the ‘Small Project Architecture’ category and the AIA Mondoluce Lighting Awards under ‘The Creative and Innovative Use of Lighting in Architecture’ category.
9. M28 / SOUTH TERRACE
Twenty contemporary coastal apartments and six ground floor commercial units are designed in this multi-housing project in the South Fremantle area. The apartments are finished with high-quality materials and have open-plan with balconies, some of which are overlooking the coastal landscape.
10. Freshwater Residence
A rear extension consisting of a living, dining, and kitchen area with outdoor landscaping, has been designed to a federation house in Clairmont under this project. Using the site’s natural gradient, the additional building and covered sitting area with pool have been embedded providing free movement between the indoor and outdoor areas and inviting daylight into various spaces.
11. Lawley Residence
This residence is carefully designed maintaining a low budget and the area’s heritage rules. White painted brick walls with concrete floors and wooden furniture are the main characteristics of the interior.
12. Raglan Residence
A rear extension to an existing worker’s cottage is designed in Lawley under this project. A living, dining, and kitchen spaces and a master suite is added allowing light through a 3m operable wall between living and bedroom. Sustainable and environmental measures are designed along with design interventions of allowing indirect daylight to the spaces.
13. Wray Residence
This is a 40 sqm rear side extension and alteration project to an existing cottage in Fremantle. Elevated exterior inviting light to the living room, installation of plywood tunnel to create a hidden bathroom, creation of smaller spaces with built-in furniture along with a 4.6 m high ceiling height framing the garden views are the main characteristics of this compactly designed residence.
14. Minsterly Residence
This two-storied residence is designed in South West Denmark as a stand out and sculptural volume in the surrounding landscape. The exterior is finished with highly durable black painted Axon cladding and sheltered opening framing the outside view. The interior is having an open plan with passive cooling interventions.
15. Keeling Residence
To reflect the client’s desire to capture the natural light and ventilation, this house is designed around a double-height central multipurpose area with two levels connected by a sculptural steel staircase. This climate-responsive is built with low cost yet low maintenance materials palate like red brick wall with large glass openings and polished concrete floor along with a timbre screen at the front for providing privacy.
References:
- Architonic.com. 2020. DAVID BARR ARCHITECT Architecture Projects OnArchitonic. [online] Available at: <https://www.architonic.com/en/microsite/david-barr-architect/5206936> [Accessed 4 June 2020].
- Houzz. 2020. DAVID BARR ARCHITECTS – Perth, WA, AU 6160 | Houzz AU. [online] Available at: <https://www.houzz.com.au/professionals/architects/david-barr-architects-pfvwau-pf~126176656> [Accessed 4 June 2020].
- D A V I D B A R R A R C H I T E C T S | Intelligent Architecture | Award Winning Architects | Fremantle + Perth. 2020. D A V I D B A R R A R C H I T E C T S | Intelligent Architecture | Award Winning Architects | Fremantle + Perth. [online] Available at: <https://davidbarrarchitects.com.au/> [Accessed 4 June 2020].
- Cameron Chisholm Nicol. 2020. Mika, South Beach – Cameron Chisholm Nicol. [online] Available at: <https://ccnwa.com.au/project/mika/> [Accessed 4 June 2020].
- Instagram.com. 2020. Login • Instagram. [online] Available at: <https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg5vPLvhuMA/> [Accessed 6 June 2020].
