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
