Kealy House, WA

For this young and promising architect from Western Australia, Josh Duncan finds beauty in simplicity and often chooses products from the Fielders® steel roofing and cladding range for his growing list of projects. However, instead of selecting from the COLORBOND® steel colour palette, he often prefers unpainted ZINCALUME® steel.

“There’s a nice depth to ZINCALUME® steel, there’s an honesty about it, nothing pretentious at all – it is what it is,” Josh explains. “Although it’s a simple material, it has a beauty to it with its metallic lustre and ability to capture the varying colours of light through the day."

Josh graduated from university in 2016 and worked in commercial architecture in Perth for several years, all the while pursuing his passion for residential architecture through project work. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, he returned to Kealy, a suburb of Busselton, and started to build his architectural practice. By offering clients a tailored architectural experience that is also cost-effective, he managed to carve out a niche in the market.

Josh has a growing portfolio of unique projects that feature Fielders® steel cladding. The 'Kealy House', showcases his love for steel - specifically ZINCALUME® steel – and offers a fresh take on the typical single-storey, Aussie suburban home. The flexible dwelling was designed to provide comfortable living for a young couple while also creating an income opportunity through two separate bedrooms with ensuites that can be accessed independently.

The house's design is dominated by Fielders TL-5™ made from ZINCALUME® steel, used for both the roof and applied vertically as wall cladding. An entablature that runs horizontally around the house provides separation between the roof and walling, while also articulating window openings and adding a further design element. This feature is also formed using ZINCALUME® steel and introduces Fielders S-Rib™ profile to the design. The exterior facades are finished with an exaggerated drip flashing datum that wraps around the home's perimeter.

According to Josh, the Kealy House project and several others in which he specified ZINCALUME® steel were previously farmlands, which had been recently subdivided for residential development.

“Though the use of ZINCALUME® steel wasn’t a direct contextual reference, I was conscious of the fact that it was one of the primary materials used to clad the agricultural buildings which were once prevalent in the area,” he said.

Josh believes that the same qualities of functionality, affordability, and low-maintenance performance that made this durable material popular among pastoralists, would also benefit the homeowners of Kealy House. 

“ZINCALUME® steel offers durability and is low maintenance,” he said. “Cost effectiveness is another attractive feature of Fielders® cladding, especially when manufactured from ZINCALUME® steel.”

“The bulk of my clients have budgets only just above that of the typical project home market, which is still often well below that required for a full architectural home.

“Part of achieving good budgetary outcomes for them is made possible by choosing the right materials – it’s about keeping it simple and finding cost-effective means of doing things.”

Josh said that Fielder's steel cladding was also easy for builders to work with. Its installation does not usually require specialised skills, giving him the confidence to specify it without causing concerns for the builder.

For further information about Kealy House and to see other projects by Joshua Duncan, please visit his website.