Grotto Architects

Grotto Architects For beauty in Architecture — residential, interiors, landscapes and planning We pay attention.

GROTTO is devoted to crafting spaces that balance beauty, structure, and function, adding a timeless and poetic touch to our surroundings. Our approach is rooted in traditional values and punctuated by contemporary thought — we are as inspired by the simplicity of a line as we are by the complexity of nature. Our approach highlights practical simplicity, shaping environmentally-responsive spaces.

Inspired by established design principles, our projects advocate timeless arrangements for adaptability, longevity, and ecological responsibility. We skillfully create inviting and captivating spaces that seamlessly integrate with their built and natural landscapes. We adopt an open-minded and curious attitude, finding inspiration in both the ordinary and the extraordinary. Embracing lessons from the past and anticipating the future is vital in shaping buildings that have a positive impact on our lives, culture, and landscapes. Above all, our guiding principle is that exceptional architecture stems from skilled, passionate, and dedicated individuals collaborating in an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust, and perseverance. We value our relationships with clients, aiming to fully understand and fulfill their vision while ensuring a transparent, enjoyable design process. Our team's collective knowledge covers every stage of the building process, from conceptualization to construction, emphasising BIM management for optimal efficiency across various project scales. Whether working on a small residential renovation or a large commercial project, our focus remains on creating architecture that contributes positively to our shared environment and culture. We observe, listen, propose, iterate, stand back, and repeat until the problem is solved, the proportion is right and the outcome makes for a better world.

FRANKLAND — A cabin in Frankland RiverDrawing on the agricultural buildings of the region, precast concrete walls, corru...
31/07/2026

FRANKLAND — A cabin in Frankland River

Drawing on the agricultural buildings of the region, precast concrete walls, corrugated tin and rain water tanks form an indistinguishable shelter.

GROTTO Studio

HAMELIN — construction WIP with place_construction Team; Stillwater Construction GROTTO Studio
10/07/2026

HAMELIN — construction WIP with place_construction

Team; Stillwater Construction

GROTTO Studio

WATKINS — White Gum ValleyHouse with ancillary on residual infill land. A sloping corner block. Two street frontages. A ...
03/07/2026

WATKINS — White Gum Valley

House with ancillary on residual infill land. A sloping corner block. Two street frontages. A tight, leftover subdivision lot — great challenge!

✅ Planning Approved

The Fremantle Council minutes described the home as “a desirable well thought through proposal on an extremely challenging site.” The support letter notes that it “enhances rather than disrupts the local streetscape and residential amenity.”

A compact home shaped by constraint, with the loft folded into the roof form and a permeable timber screen softening the western sun.

Design and planning by GROTTO
Interiors and building permit by Archive Office
Construction commencing with The Barefoot Renovator

Professional images 5, 6, 7 by Common Room

BATH HOUSE — From the archive; a test concept for a warehouse bathhouse proposal.A business model and design vision dire...
22/06/2026

BATH HOUSE — From the archive; a test concept for a warehouse bathhouse proposal.

A business model and design vision direction engagement, exploring how an industrial shell could become an intimate, social and immersive bathhouse experience.

Pools, steam, shadow and reflection — all veiled by fine stainless steel curtains.

GROTTO Studio

SUBIACO HOUSE — Planning approved.We’re pleased to share the latest design development renders for this project, which h...
12/06/2026

SUBIACO HOUSE — Planning approved.

We’re pleased to share the latest design development renders for this project, which has now received planning approval and is set to commence construction toward the end of 2026.

The proposal continues GROTTO’s interest in quiet, atmospheric architecture — spaces shaped by light, material depth, landscape and a strong sense of permanence.

More to come as the project moves toward documentation and construction.

Architecture + Interiors by GROTTO Studio

PATTERNS* — early development studies for a new series of pre-designed homes.These scale models are part of an ongoing e...
10/06/2026

PATTERNS* — early development studies for a new series of pre-designed homes.

These scale models are part of an ongoing exploration into compact, efficient and highly calibrated houses using CLT construction — chosen for its speed on site, aesthetic warmth, structural clarity, environmental performance and raw material beauty.

The ambition is simple: well-designed homes that are faster to build, lighter on the planet, and richer to live in. A quiet response to urban infill, construction cost uncertainty, and the need for more considered housing options. Conventional building methods will also be supported.

We’re still shaping the series, so we’d love to know what people are looking for in a home — size, make-up, flexibility, materials, cost, lifestyle, landscape, anything and everything.

Comment below. More soon.

Models

*Working title

GROTTO Studio

DOLMEN — YanchepA new coastal addition for a retiring couple, designed around a simple question: how can a house become ...
04/06/2026

DOLMEN — Yanchep

A new coastal addition for a retiring couple, designed around a simple question: how can a house become more useful, more protected, and more generous with age?

The project retained the existing 1980s project home as a place for family to stay, while the new addition created an age-in-place retreat that could support changing care needs over time, including live-in assistance or palliative care if ever required.

Set into the exposed coastal edge of Yanchep, the house was imagined as a quiet fortress against sun, wind and salt. Robust sand-cast concrete walls were explored as a way of embedding the building into its place, using local sand textures and scale-model testing to study different wall finishes, from smooth cast surfaces to rough, eroded faces.

Operable shading protected the western edge while preserving long ocean views. The plan folded into a U-shaped courtyard around an existing coastal tea tree, allowing the tree to complete the outdoor room and create a protected deck at the centre of the house.

The project ultimately did not proceed in Yanchep, with the clients selling the site. The conversation has since moved to Swanbourne, where we are now exploring the refurbishment and addition of a charming old cottage.

Models

GROTTO Studio

PROGRESS — construction steaming along at Roux House with  With the roofs now on, just in time for the rains, the spaces...
28/05/2026

PROGRESS — construction steaming along at Roux House with

With the roofs now on, just in time for the rains, the spaces begin to take on their intended volumes and the first feeling of the home’s spaces begin to set in.

This is a home of compression and release, making the most of the narrow block, the surrounding treescape and the onsite peppermint tree. The intimacy comes with the tension between low vs high, close vs far and dark vs light.

GROTTO Studio

HAMMOND — from the archiveA resourceful cabin on the edge of the paddock GROTTO Studio
27/05/2026

HAMMOND — from the archive
A resourceful cabin on the edge of the paddock

GROTTO Studio

LUTHIER — 1:20 scale model study.  Testing amber stained glass by Bisshops Glass, and the controlled warmth of screened ...
19/05/2026

LUTHIER — 1:20 scale model study.

Testing amber stained glass by Bisshops Glass, and the controlled warmth of screened eastern and western light.

The gables face SE and NW, catching the low sun through stained glass — flooding the house in golden light.

Timber frame construction is now underway with and .carpentry

Scale model by

GROTTO Studio

Address

1/14 LEURA Street
Cottesloe, WA
6009

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