T

he motto of the early-twentieth-century suffragette move-
ment aptly describes architect Kate FitzGerald’s approach
to architecture. She’s the founder of Whispering Smith, a
staunchly feminist architecture firm that was born out of her
childhood experiences of working on a farm, and a stint in Western
Australia’s mines during a break from her architecture studies.
After graduating, Kate moved to Perth with her partner, landscaper
Matthew Johnston, and the couple renovated two apartments for
profit before buying this suburban block in Scarborough (with Kate’s
father as an investment partner). They retained the existing dwelling
and developed plans to build two new homes, one of which is now
complete. “We did this because we’re never in control of what our
clients might want,” Kate says. “As architects, we can talk about
solutions, but we thought it was better to build one. This is what
change and a sustainable future could look like: we are all about
making architecture more affordable.”
Kate doggedly challenged local council regulations and state
government development codes, and worked through the sequentially
prescriptive requirements of the land titles office and lenders to
gain permission to build the one-bedroom House A at the front of
the block.
Once the build commenced, they began renovating the original
house to meet the subdivision requirements, and they plan to
build House C at the rear. Kate admits the four-year process has
been difficult and at times frustrating, but says that the results are
worth the effort, and the knowledge they’ve acquired will be used
to benefit others.

$2,500 perm^2

2 (young couple)

1

1 +1 powder room

Site: 175 m^2

Floor: 112 m^2

Design: 1yr

Build: 1yr^02 The kitchen and living

spaces open to a sunny

courtyard that works

with the high ceilings to

counter the dwelling’s

diminutive footprint.