Whispering Smith and its development arm New Resident present a video installation on gentle density – the planning reform, construction methods and economics that shape whether our suburbs get better or worse. It’s easy to overlook, but it makes a real difference to how a neighbourhood works: how existing homes and streetscapes can be retained while adding well-designed housing behind them, through smarter construction methods and small-footprint townhouses that fill in some of the ‘missing middle’ the current market skips over.

The installation draws on projects Whispering Smith has designed for New Resident, translated here into a short, accessible format, and the team will be on hand throughout the day for anyone who wants to talk through the detail further.

The event is part of the King William Street Studios open day, featuring Studio Barker’s in-situ garden installations and local artist Jessica Wraight, who is exhibiting paintings from her journeys around Fremantle.

Full address:
King William Street Studios
6 King William Street,
South Fremantle, WA 6162

Part of a wider open day at the same venue – includes an open studio with Studio Barker and paintings from Jessica Wraight, alongside the chance to meet the resident design teams.

No registration needed, all welcome.

For questions about this event, please contact the organiser.

Images: Ben Hosking

Whispering Smith & New Resident
Whispering Smith is an architecture practice, founded in 2011, known for characterful homes built on an honest approach to design and construction and a commitment to local materials and craft. The studio works across renovation, new build and restoration.

New Resident is Whispering Smith’s development arm, established to address the ‘missing middle’ of housing options between the standalone family home and the apartment tower. It retains existing homes and streetscape character while adding small-footprint, well-designed housing on the same site, and has fed directly into the planning reform now shaping medium-density policy in WA.

Together, Whispering Smith and New Resident work out of the same King William Street studio in South Fremantle, operating at different scales toward the same underlying question: how do we build homes and neighbourhoods worth living in?

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