Fisherman’s House

The brief

Regeneration and reinvention – rehabilitate the original Fisherman’s cottage and the gardens in between. Use inspired thinking to create a forever family home and fulfil the potential of the unusual site which features a nine-metre fall from street to the Harbours edge.

The result

A crisp and contemporary reimagining of the original weatherboard fisherman’s cottage, with moments of memory introduced through steel structure and detailing. A new wing is introduced as an off-form concrete ‘tower’ nestled against the sandstone cliff edge. Hanging gardens of indigenous flora, flank the external façade and will reclaim the site over time.

Internally the verticality of the tower navigates the site’s dramatic drop and facilitates an experiential journey through the site. In the calm stillness of the concrete mass, movement is guided through the moody stairwell finished with walnut timber veneer, glowing pendant lights and a bespoke, leather-wrapped handrail. A series of unexpected vistas and layered atmospheres are revealed as one descends the site, from views to the dramatically up-lit sandstone cliff face, to tailored glimpses to the harbour, past deep green velvet curtains.

Restored and opened into a singular volume, the fisherman’s cottage presents an understated, open-plan room for living that slowly reveals the site’s striking harbour views. An impression of the cottage’s original walls is marked with a blackened steel framework – a spatial memory of the building’s first form.

The feeling

A theatrical journey from dark to light, private to communal, static sandstone rockface to fluid and reflective water – and a complete immersion of the senses.