71 Whitney Drive and courtyard garden

71 Whitney Drive is a private dwelling and its courtyard garden, constructed in 1966 to designs by architect Derrick Shorten for himself and his family.

The house is built of load-bearing brick, with steel beams, timber joists, and some timber cladding. It has a rectangular plan, situated on the north side of Whitney Drive. The dwelling is two storeys with a flat roof. The ground floor plan is wider, extending as a single-storey structure on the south side, while the first floor occupies only the north half of the building and is cantilevered over the west side, sheltering the entrance. The exterior is of white painted brick, with structural steel beams and a horizontal-laid cedar boarded fascia to both ground and first floors. Windows and doors are aluminium-framed with a polyester powder coating. The west elevation has a central door, paired with sliding doors to the north of the door. A large first-floor bedroom window spans the width of the first floor and wraps around the north and south corners to create a three-aspect view. The south elevation, facing Whitney Drive, features two sets of sliding doors overlooking a courtyard garden, and a replaced up-and-over garage door at the east end. Various doors and windows are visible on the north and east elevations.

Inside, the house retains much of its original plan and finishes. A stair hall extends from west to east, with a dining room, kitchen, toilet, and bedroom (later fitted with a shower) on the north side, and a large lounge and integrated garage on the south side. Ground floor rooms generally feature cork floor tiles (replacing original vinyl tiles) and wood-panelled ceilings; the lounge retains square parquet tiles. The first floor landing provides access to bedrooms at the east and west ends, and a smaller bedroom and family bathroom off the north side. Exposed ceiling timbers remain on the first floor, and the westernmost bedroom retains its triple-aspect window overlooking the gardens.

A part-enclosed, U-plan courtyard constructed of London stock brick sits between the house and Whitney Drive, forming a subsidiary feature.