As good as it gets. - housing design.

Shelter is a basic human need.

Apart from those unfortunate enough to be homeless, in jail or otherwise institutionalised, the rest of us live in some form of domestic housing.

Whether renting or buying, for most people, paying for the roof over our head is a major expense.

Whatever the type, style or shape of your abode, your ability to choose your housing, will most likely have been dictated by the price and availability of accommodation in your area.


Often, you cannot afford to be fussy. Perhaps you need to move in a hurry or sign a lease quickly before someone else beats you to it. You just have to take what you can get.


Others are more fortunate in the choice department. They are able to buy or build a new brand house.

Why then do so many of them buy or build housing which is badly designed, wastes energy and is unsuited to their needs?


Its human nature to want to improve your lot in life so over the centuries as the general public became relatively wealthier, people have wanted to live in bigger and more luxurious houses.

The reasoning seems to be that what was good enough for your grandparents was not good enough for your parents.

And what was good enough for your parents is not good enough for you.

In the best traditions of capitalism, the building industry, developers and real estate agents, have been only too happy to construct and sell inferior designs disguised as quality housing.

Very few gave any though to the eveyday practicality and long term sustainability of the product..

The motto was and still is "Make it bigger and make it cheaper and they will buy it"

It seems that wholesale change will only only come through government legislation forcing builders to adopt more environmentally sound building practices.

The sad thing is that good sustainable design does not have to be expensive.

And allowance for more expensive passive solar features such as grid-feed PV systems can be incorporated at the design stage and added later.

To see just how good sustainable housing design can be look at The Ecovillage at Currumbin which was awarded the World's Best Environmental Development in the 2008 FIABCI Prix D'Excellence Awards in Amsterdam.




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