This miraculous makeover in Brisbane’s inner north-west would be the envy of many homeowners. For two reasons: it has totally transformed once dark and dowdy spaces – nothing unusual there but, amazingly, it was magically achieved without a pesky DA. Perhaps not surprisingly, architect David Gockel of Gockel Architects has dubbed it ‘Freihaus’, aka Free House, a nod to its easy, breezy birth and also, fortuitously, to the surname of one of its owners. “In the Middle Ages, a freihaus was built in such a way that it was exempt from a city’s rules,” he explains. “We used this opportunity to push the limits of what is allowed within development rules.”
David had known the owners, Holly French and Philipp Freihofner, for some time, but the relationship had recently grown…
