Header: Jack Lovel
Shadow House is a residential project by Craig Nener of GROTTO Studio, designed for a couple in Bayswater, Western Australia. The project, which was awarded in the Architectural Design – Residential category at the BLT Built Design Awards, involved the renovation of an early 1900s cottage and the addition of a new volume to the rear. Clad in charred jarrah and set back from the street, the extension is visually recessive, allowing the original cottage to maintain its original presence on the street.
The new volume is oriented along a southwest to northeast axis, with a raking roofline that captures morning light from the northeast and softer afternoon light from the northwest. Once inside, the kitchen, dining, and living areas are arranged along this line and open outdoors through full-height glazed doors.
A detached studio sits at the rear of the site, operating as a guest suite with its own private courtyard. It is lined with dark timber and separated from the main living space by a narrow atrium containing a secondary courtyard clad in raw jarrah.
Reclaimed materials, including salvaged jarrah and other timber elements, are used throughout the design. The connection between the old and new structures is expressed through material junctions, floor-level shifts, and deliberate contrast without reproducing or referencing historical details.
The layout of the new space is minimally divided, with spatial zones defined by ceiling angles, changes of material, and the orientation of openings. Floor levels are aligned across thresholds, and transitions to outdoor areas are handled through full-height glazing, which helps maintain a continuous relationship between inside and out.
