Daryne was also on site to document the build, which took 31 working days counted. With no serious issues, no over-runs, problems or surprises, the construction theory played out perfectly in practice. “We used a local builder who had never worked with cross-laminated timber before, and he managed very well. In fact, he said that next time the process would be faster.”
Getting the thumbs up from individuals is super gratifying, but the local community housing providers, government and council representatives also made positive comments about the potential of the Living House. Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell, who has put affordable housing growth as an urgent priority, came to visit, as did the Hon Todd McClay – the member of parliament for Rotorua, and the Minister of Forestry. He commented that the three-bedroom, $335,000 house (which came in bang on budget), was “head and shoulders” above a state-funded development of one-bedroom apartments built for almost double that amount each just down the road.
We’re thrilled that our affordable, climate-positive concept has proved itself in this pilot project, mainly because the house offers such potential for community-housing initiatives. But there has been overwhelming interest from other quarters too – as baches, first homes, or other forms of accommodation (for example, for shearing gangs on farms). “To date, we’ve had over 200 enquiries spanning the spectrum and even one from a social-housing provider in Australia, whose representative travelled across the ditch to come and see the prototype for himself.”
With a national MultiProof application in the pipeline - a statement issued by MBIE to say that our plans comply with the NZ Building Code, which effectively cuts consenting time in half – the Living House process will become easier and quicker still.
Our first built Living House 01 is now ready to become a forever home and there’s a prospective buyer who seems perfect for what we had in mind: a mum of two who, together with her adult daughters, hopes to purchase the house as a whanau and return to live close to their iwi.
It’s early days but we have our fingers crossed, so watch this space…
For more, visit livinghouse.nz