Lewis House by Studio Roam and Iota

Located in Perth’s Cottesloe, Lewis House combines its interesting history and unique stylings with a contemporary relevance and appropriateness for modern life. Originally built in the 1940s, the home was imagined in the Spanish mission style by Peter Thorald Travers Lewis. As an unusual offering from its time, preserving the character and charm of the original home was key, as was restoring and moulding the home to reflect how its occupants live today. The new work both expresses the existing while using a considered approach to insert elements through a sensitive lens and ensure its narrative continues. With architecture by Studio Roam and interior design by Iota, the resulting spaces respectfully reflect time.

The extensive reworking by Assemble Building Co. saw a full site excavation while retaining the walls of the heritage home. Originally built in off-form concrete, the retained walls were the ideal bones to configure a more contemporary layout of connected spaces.

By elevating the entire lower floor, a collaborative process between all parties enables the home to flow effortlessly from one space to the next. A plinth then remains as a marker of the changed floor level. In retaining the existing and working around it, the newer insertions act as responsive and respectful counterparts, with neither in competition with the other.

Having owned and lived in the home for close to twenty years, with their adult children having moved on, the clients wanted to create a fresh start to match their own next chapter. After addressing the functional issues that come with a house over time, the new elements permitted an open embrace of the area through a more modern perspective.

Restraint was integral to the proposal in ensuring that the original continued to be celebrated while allowing for a newfound freshness to be felt throughout. A warm palette of natural materials is inspired by the original home and is brought forward and interpreted into an array of textural finishes, all bound through a common earthed quality.

Through a clear and deep respect for the heritage home, Lewis House continues its lineage through a curated approach by Studio Roam and Iota at the helm.