Knutsford Precinct

Knutsford is a new neighbourhood grown from the fabric of Fremantle itself—an urban infill project that turns former industrial land into a connected, mixed community shaped by the city’s social, cultural and architectural character.

AIA National Awards Jury Citation

“Knutsford is principally driven through the pursuit of desired social outcomes and a comprehensive reading and reinterpretation of the local Fremantle context. The design is executed with a confident and deft hand, bringing together a combination of strong, simple forms, well scaled to fit in the existing context. Through the exploration and understanding of its Fremantle origins, the project derives a number of moments, where reinterpreted agricultural details deliver moments of interest and delight. Laneways have been carefully designed to become vibrant back streets and secondary frontage to ancillary dwellings.

The units and apartments that make up Knutsford are an affordable product without compromising the architectural intent. The forms are raw and the pallet is deliberately restrained creating a strong identity for the development. This hardness” is balanced by an integrated incorporation of delicate moments of screens and landscape landscaping and by providing open opportunities for the inhabitants to customise and express their personalities. Similarly the interiors are flexible and accommodating allowing similar adaptation and customisation by the occupants. The end result is that the development expresses a strong sense of community, ownership and belonging.”

Delivered across four stages, the precinct draws on Fremantle’s heritage of worker cottages, warehouses and small industries to inform both its grain and its attitude. Buildings shift in scale as they meet their surroundings: single-storey cottage forms along Blinco Street, and three-storey urban forms to Knutsford and Amherst Streets. Low, skillion roofs echo the industrial sheds that once occupied the site, while a restrained palette of brick, metal and rammed concrete brings cohesion and durability. This simplicity provides a calm backdrop for residents to personalise and make their own.

Much of the design work involved understanding how to create density without losing the informality and openness that defines Fremantle. Instead of levelling the site, buildings step with the limestone terrain, creating moments of interest and varied streetscapes. Parking is pulled to the laneways, freeing the main streets for living rooms, porches and adaptable spaces that encourage social connection. Landscaped pathways, pocket parks and pedestrian links stitch the precinct into Fremantle’s wider walking and cycling network.

The housing is deliberately varied—apartments, terraces and flexible dwellings capable of evolving with their occupants. Many homes include spaces that can shift between living, working, hosting or small-scale creative enterprise, reflecting a long tradition of cottage industry in this part of the city.

The result is a neighbourhood with a strong sense of place and community. Knutsford offers an alternative to suburban sprawl: medium-density living with high amenity, environmental performance and the spirit of Fremantle embedded in its everyday life.