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Published on 6/19/2018
Published by marketing@concretebroker.com.au
Tiny concrete home designed for enviro-friendly Millennials
If you’re a minimalist Millennial with a penchant for sustainability and socialising, this may be your dream home.
Cover Photo: Ben Hosking
The 70-square-metre floor plan suits entertaining large groups.
ALLISON WORRALL JUN 14, 2018
If you’re a minimalist Millennial with a penchant for sustainability and socialising, this may be your dream home.
A compact, concrete apartment-house hybrid made of recyclable materials is set to challenge the status quo, particularly when it comes to entry-level properties. And the emerging architect behind “House A” hopes it inspires her generation.
Seeking a hands-on challenge, Kate FitzGerald, the founder and director of Whispering Smith architecture firm, went halves with her dad in buying a large block of land in the Perth suburb of Scarborough.
The stairs lead to the only bedroom. Photo: BEN HOSKING
“I wanted to achieve a carbon-neutral development, something that was sustainable, and I wanted to do it in a way that was really architectural,” the 32-year-old says.
She subdivided the block into three lots, the smallest of which was just 175 square metres. On this tiny slice of land, formerly a yard with a lonely Hills hoist, she set out to design and build a functional one-bedroom home with a 70-square-metre floor plan for a self-employed couple.
“Often one-bedrooms are in a block or are considered fodder for a market of emerging first-home buyers,” Ms FitzGerald says.
Architect Kate FitzGerald designed the home to suit a young, self-employed couple. Photo: Ben Hosking
But she saw a missed opportunity: a generation of prospective home owners whose desires weren’t being met in the traditional housing market.
“Perhaps as our demographics are changing, I’m finding all my friends are having kids later,” she says.
“So there’s this whole emerging market of people who want something that is sustainable – they don’t want something that is huge, they do want something that can entertain a lot of people and they do want something that is well designed.”
Source : Domain.com.au
The home is made of recycled concrete and brick. Photo: Ben Hosking
A personal project from the outset, she put in her own cash and would go on to live in the home: a three-storey mini-tower with a garage on the lowest level and a loft bedroom.
Her creation, completed last year, has since been entered into the WA Institute of Architects’ annual awards.
“People have a very fixed idea of what housing looks like,” Ms FitzGerald says. “House A was about stripping away all of that stuff.”
House A has been entered into the WA Institute of Architects’ annual awards. Photo: Ben Hosking
While it takes the traditional shape of a house, there are no visible gutters or common exterior products such as Colorbond. It is stark and simple, inside and out.
“House A is pretty fascinating because it’s set around a courtyard and it has no internal doors or actual rooms. They’re just spaces that flow into one another,” Ms FitzGerald says.
“So when we have people over, we open up the doors onto the deck and we can fit a massive long table that could seat 30 people. ”
The structure is made from recycled concrete panels, whitewashed recycled brick and recycled timber. A rain tank is hidden under the small outdoor deck and solar panels are due to be installed.
Ms FitzGerald hopes it can be a model for young people who are looking for a high-quality, sustainable home. But she is fully aware of the financial burdens.
“We all know we want better housing, but it’s so expensive. The existing housing we have that’s 100 years old is so expensive,” she says.
“So as this generational shift is happening, how are we supposed to afford to a) buy the thing, let alone b) make it better or build better ones?”
Part of the solution, she believes, could lie in housing collectives. Ms FitzGerald has already been approached by like-minded individuals looking to join forces to buy, subdivide and build sustainable developments.
“To me, that’s the beginning of change and that’s super exciting.”
Source : Domain.com.au
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Tags: architecture concrete house concrete houses environment sustainable sustainable energy
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