Real Perth projects, from plan to finished homes

The client came to us with a large, awkward site and one question: what is the best use of all of it? We split the answer into two stages.

On the residential land, five single-storey homes on a shared driveway. We tendered them to three builders and ran the development application with the City of Swan.

On the commercial land, we tested four uses (allied health, medical suites, childcare and storage) against agent, valuer and builder input. The brief moved from three large warehouses to ten smaller storage units, which suit more tenants and rent better per square metre.

We worked through an unfinished subdivision application left by a previous owner and a right-of-way requirement with the WAPC. The City confirmed the commercial application can proceed before the titles are split, which keeps both stages moving at once.

Our client wanted three homes sharing a common driveway, subdivided on survey strata. A sloping lot changes everything about a small development: levels, retaining, drainage and how one driveway works for three homes.

We started with a feature and contour survey, then designed around the fall so each home sits well and the retaining is planned rather than improvised. Keeping every home single storey also protects the neighbours’ privacy on a lot that steps down.

We commissioned soil and stormwater work, checked the sewer location against the title, and had the planning justification prepared for the City.

Before anything was lodged, we set out a full authority cost schedule and a realistic subdivision timeline, so the client could see the whole commitment, not just the builder’s number.