Size Matters
Australia, alongside the USA, has the largest homes in the world. This is not a feat to be admired and definitely not created out of need.
It is created out of want. Out of desire for more, for opulence, for ego.
According to the 2021 Census, the average household size contains 2.5 persons.
The average freestanding house size is around 240m2. Bear in mind this is the average. If you were to factor in the older housing stock across the country - pre-1970’s, where houses are typically below 150m2, it is the most recent decades that are driving that average up. So many houses are built that are over 300m2 these days, many into the 400’s too.
The result of building a large home;
Heavily resource dependent; the bigger the house the more materials required to build it and the more expensive the construction costs.
Energy Guzzlers; the bigger the volume internally, the more energy is required to heat, cool and light your house. Additionally you need bigger and more energy systems and more appliances to give you the same comfort as does a smaller house..
One contributing factor we encounter over and over again is people designing their house for a rare event or occasion, like Christmas day, even though every single Christmas, or other large gathering of friends and family, people always make do with what they’ve got. Even with a smaller house your living area could be equally designed in such an efficient and inviting way to help you entertain many guests. Nobody complains, everybody chips in, and everyone - almost ;) - always has a great time.
Similarly, we don’t need to create separate additional spaces dedicated to only one thing. Your living room can be easily transformed to your much desired cinema room, and you don’t really need a second living room if you’re only a family of four.
What you do need is a different mindset and approach to the design of your house.
We created a design brief that we’ve coined ‘The Ultimate Brief’ that focuses on how you behave in a house and the different activities you do and like to do. By doing this you’ll have a clear understanding of the way you live and the way you and your family want to live. Instead of thinking in separate spaces and how your life inside the house adapts to these spaces, this brief makes you consciously overthink the activities you really want and need to perform in the house, and how these activities need to be supported.
With a smaller house than you think you will need we can bring you similar or more comfort than you could have wished for, whilst saving you a lot of money in ongoing costs in the future.
“Freedom = knowing you don't need more than just enough” - Marjolein in het klein
You can read an excellent article featured in The Guardian entitled Homes on steroids: how Australia cam to build some of the biggest houses on Earth. Link HERE.
For an in-depth discussion around the cost of building a Passivhaus and the influencing factors, you can link to the article HERE.