Perhaps what is most curious about Australian architect Jimmy Thompson’s home is that more square meterage is dedicated to gardens and outdoor spaces than there is plot itself. This poses somewhat of a numbers conundrum, begging the question as to how it makes sense. If one accepts it as part of the mathematical mastery that comes with an architectural qualification and many years on the job, it becomes one of many tricks of the trade that the design director of MJA Studio brought to the conception and design of the newbuild home he now shares with his partner, Angie. Thompson was on the lookout for a plot in Perth’s northern suburb Goonderup, having lived in several homes in neighbouring areas. Spotted online by the architect while in a Norwegian airport, it was only a matter of time before he purchased the unusual piece of land, the former back garden of a larger property, adjacent to a small neighbourhood park.
To understand what Thompson did next, one first has to understand the site. The plot has neighbouring homes on two sides, the park on a third, and a narrow lane that permits access to the backs of the street’s original properties as a fourth. The intriguing use of space that defines his home was a response to the site itself, what’s known as a battle axe block, a plot in which the subdivided land – situated behind the original structure – is accessible by a driveway conventionally shared by both properties. ‘Too often such blocks see the replacement of an ex-backyard with homes that cover the majority of the site and leave little room for gardens,’ he explains. ‘I wanted to flip the typical diagram by making the lane our front door and the street our back, while opening up in party mode to the adjacent park.’ The result is a contemporary home that intelligently maximises available space while remaining considerate to its neighbours.
Built over two storeys, the heart of the home is a central courtyard, a medicinal garden that comprises a leopard tree and plants that can be used for teas and tinctures. The surrounding ground-floor rooms – the master bedroom, its en suite, and a study (with proportions that allow it to be reconfigured as two bedrooms in the future) – are largely introverted, with retractable glass walls that open to the garden, making for seamless, and private, in- and outdoor living. Alongside the courtyard is a covered outdoor area complete with a bath, kitchen and daybed. Perforated brickwork, which regulates airflow and temperature within the home, also allows outward views onto a perimeter edible garden that includes plantings of herbs, pomegranate, citrus and stone fruit trees.
In contrast to the secluded ground floor, the upstairs area – home to an open-plan kitchen and entertainment space, as well as a terrace – is outward looking, with views across the park and towards Perth’s skyscraper horizon making it feel more expansive. Brave a series of metal rungs built into an external wall, and you can access the rooftop garden with its panoramic views and endemic Western Australian landscaping, chosen to withstand climatic extremes, and to round out the biodiversity of the two lower-level gardens.
Both upstairs and down, inside and out, material choices repeat, contributing to the sense of a boundaryless indoor-outdoor lifestyle. ‘The rough, white bagged brickwork reflects Perth’s brutal sun and provides the home’s enclosure, negating any need for boundary fencing,’ Thompson explains. ‘The glazed blue brickwork speaks to the surrounding blue-tiled roofs and the exoticism of the courtyard typology.’ Burnished concrete floors, recycled timber, and louvered glass windows complete the material palette.
Thompson recounts how, shortly after moving in, the couple invited neighbours to drop by for a closer look at the ‘peculiar’ home, the building of which they’d had to endure. When a neighbour remarked how the home’s out- and indoor nature left her feeling like she wasn’t even in a house, Thompson truly understood the power of design. ‘Mine is an adaptive and flexible home with spaces designed to provide us with choice, so that no matter the time of day or year, there is always an ideal place to inhabit,’ he says.
To view more of Jimmy’s architecture, visit mjastudio.net
Martin Jacobs
