Barrett House was bequeathed to council by the estate of early Twentieth Century Australian filmmaker, Walter Franklyn Barrett (1873-1964), who originally occupied the premises. Barrett House is a facility shared by the three eastern Suburbs councils.
After obtaining grants from the state government for a 3-Council reduce Your Footprint project, the Barrett House retrofit project was formed. Barrett House was developed as a sustainable demonstration project that follows the permaculture design principles both inside and out – often showing two or three different approaches to retrofitting for sustainability to show the sustainability of every size and shape of the house and every budget – to demonstrate how to make homes more sustainable and comfortable to living in.