Fresh Fields Refines Design for $160m East Fremantle Health Precinct

Kerry Hill Architects designed the scheme, with Griffiths Architects working on the heritage component and Hassell leading landscape design.

The approved facility comprises a ground-floor cafe, a medical and wellness centre, and two supported independent living units. It also includes the aged care beds, basement parking and landscaping.

The amendment would cut the medical centre’s consulting rooms from five to four and would increase the facility’s overall bed count from 160 to 162.

Woodside House is the heritage centrepiece of the precinct. Griffiths Architects said any amendments would keep its conservation outcomes intact, with no change to views of the primary facades.

Changes to the building are minor. The northern setback has increased by 155mm. The setback to the reconstructed eastern wall has reduced slightly, assessed as low-impact since the wall lacks early detailing.

New windows, a door and internal reconfigurations would allow suites to hold extra beds without changing the house’s character.

▲ A rendering of the new aged care building alongside heritage-listed Woodside House (right) within the expanded gardens.

Restoration works include plastic paint being stripped from the facade and replaced with silicate mineral paint matched to the original colour.

Verandah gutters, scotias and fascias would be reinstated and existing cast iron balustrades repaired.

Some wellness functions, including a salon, have been folded into the heritage house to draw residents closer to the building.

The revised plans add an extra suite to the building’s third level, lifting the floor from 10 to 11 rooms.

The wellness centre has been consolidated. A non-denominational chapel, to be used as a flexible space for ceremonies and reflection, is part of the amended layout.

Deep soil area would nearly double under the changes, from 19.5 per cent to 31 per cent of the site, equivalent to an increase from 2350sq m to 3765 square metres. On-structure planting would increase to 2440 square metres.

▲ The new buildings will wrap around Woodside House, with terraced gardens stepping down through the site.

This would support additional gardens and retain more mature trees, according to the updated planning report.

Basement and lower ground levels have been reworked for improved access to building cores. Service vehicles and general traffic would be kept apart more clearly, though car bay numbers stay at 52 in the basement and 56 at lower ground level.

Elsewhere in Fremantle, a long-vacant North Fremantle site has cleared its own planning hurdle.

Western Australia’s metro inner development assessment panel approved GJJ Property’s three-storey mixed-use project in July, following a development application lodged in May.

The site is opposite rock venue Mojo’s Bar, and objectors had warned that noise complaints from future residents could threaten its ongoing operation.

The $6.75-million development would comprise three retail premises, two offices and six boutique apartments, across a consolidated site at 220 Queen Victoria Street and 6 Burns Street.