0:00:09.156,0:00:11.636
Some of my friends have bought a house,

0:00:11.636,0:00:13.966
a reasonably priced,[br]three or four bedroom.

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Not expensive, but enough to tie them[br]to a 30-year mortgage.

0:00:19.087,0:00:22.607
They work a nine-hour day, and travel[br]two hours to get there and back.

0:00:24.167,0:00:27.709
By the time they get home, relax, sleep;

0:00:27.709,0:00:29.999
they have to get up and do it all again.

0:00:31.209,0:00:34.060
Sometimes they say[br]they feel a little bit trapped.

0:00:34.800,0:00:38.451
Realistically, half of the rooms[br]in that house are empty all the time.

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And they're always looking forward[br]to their next holiday,

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away from it all -

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the house included.

0:00:45.361,0:00:47.401
Apparently, this is quite normal.

0:00:47.891,0:00:50.951
My partner Andrew and I[br]are at about this point in our lives.

0:00:51.912,0:00:56.762
But the idea of striving for this kind[br]of lifestyle seems out of balance.

0:00:58.042,0:01:01.494
Health, nature, and time[br]feels like it's being traded

0:01:01.494,0:01:03.294
for house, money, and stuff.

0:01:04.504,0:01:09.055
I guess, most of us follow the same path:[br]buy as much as we can afford,

0:01:09.055,0:01:14.706
in the best area we can afford, [br]and adjust our lifestyles to suit.

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Usually this means[br]a big house in the suburbs

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with a bit of a commute.

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The problem I have with this is that[br]I believe our physical environments

0:01:26.987,0:01:29.767
enforce habits, both good and bad.

0:01:30.677,0:01:33.790
We build the world's biggest houses, [br]and fill them with stuff,

0:01:34.119,0:01:36.160
worsening our ecological footprint.

0:01:36.980,0:01:39.466
Many of our houses are quite insular,

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turning their backs on neighbors[br]and the public street.

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We take out crippling mortgages

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in our pursuit for the great[br]Australian dream,

0:01:49.061,0:01:53.531
and sacrifice our welfare,[br]our relationships, and our hobbies.

0:01:53.988,0:01:55.909
So this was a bit of a problem for us.

0:01:55.909,0:01:59.683
What we really wanted was something[br]a lot smaller and more flexible

0:01:59.683,0:02:01.729
than what the market offered.

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We wanted to buy something[br]within our means,

0:02:06.915,0:02:12.474
and have our lifestyle adapt our home,[br]not the other way around.

0:02:13.155,0:02:17.705
Our homes could be so much more,[br]and take so much less.

0:02:17.707,0:02:21.076
They could offer us easy ways[br]to process our own waste,

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or recycle our water.

0:02:24.406,0:02:28.517
They could offer us ways to collect[br]and monitor our energy usage,

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or foster connected communities.

0:02:33.648,0:02:37.588
And of course, like many problems,[br]this isn't just a personal problem,

0:02:37.588,0:02:40.808
this issue is broader;[br]it's on the national and global scale.

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Our homes demand huge amounts[br]of energy to build and operate.

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Not only this, but they produce[br]large amounts of waste.

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And the land clearing required[br]for new low-density development

0:02:56.001,0:02:57.701
is an ongoing problem.

0:02:59.151,0:03:03.951
And yet, we stubbornly march forward,[br]building bigger and bigger houses yearly.

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The average floor plan size[br]or the average area of our houses

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has steadily grown over the past 15 years.

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And simultaneously, the number of people[br]living in these houses has declined.

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And to top it all off, many of us[br]can't even afford to buy a house.

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The average price of our houses[br]in Australian capital cities

0:03:28.815,0:03:32.376
is now more than seven times[br]our average annual income.

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That's huge. [br]

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So the last year my partner and I,[br]and a builder-mate of ours,

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teamed up with his small crew as well,[br]to design and build an alternative.

0:03:46.898,0:03:50.789
Something based on our desires,[br]and not the market expectations.

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You may have heard of the term,[br]a "tiny house" before.

0:03:54.449,0:03:58.330
In our case, it's essentially[br]a fully functioning house

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condensed down into 18 square meters,

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which is two car-parking spaces.

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The product is a home[br]that is transportable,

0:04:10.912,0:04:13.083
more affordable than the average house,

0:04:13.083,0:04:16.253
and also, more environmentally friendly.

0:04:17.053,0:04:18.913
So let me give you a quick tour.

0:04:18.913,0:04:20.614
The house is built on a trailer,

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so you can tow a fully functioning house[br]onto site and park it there.

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You enter the house via the deck.

0:04:27.915,0:04:31.783
The deck is made up of modular panels,[br]that attach to the side of the house

0:04:31.783,0:04:34.735
when you arrive on site,[br]doubling the width.

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The doors and windows are made[br]of recycled floor joists of old cottages,

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and this recycled timber-fill[br]is continued through on the bench tops,

0:04:43.658,0:04:47.629
the shelves, and the decking boards.

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Because space is such an issue,

0:04:51.596,0:04:55.361
it was important to maintain[br]good views through the house.

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So the front entry windows and doors

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line up with the windows[br]in front of the kitchen.

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Once inside, you are presented[br]with long views through the house.

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The rhythm of the portal frames[br]helps to organise the space,

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and reduce the feeling of clutter.

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Up one end, is an L-shaped[br]lounge space,

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and behind that[br]is floor-to-ceiling storage.

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By day, this is a lounge space,

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and by night, a bed[br]is lowered down from the ceiling.

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In the central space,[br]on one side is the kitchen bench,

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and on the other side is a narrow bench,

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which turns into the vanity[br]and the laundry space.

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And at the far end is the bathroom,

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which is separated from[br]the main space by a sliding door.

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The bathroom contains a full-size shower,[br]and a composting toilet,

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because this one was designed[br]to be able to be off-grid.

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Above the backroom space is a loft,

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which could be used[br]as additional sleeping space

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for a double or a queen bed,[br]or for more storage space.

0:06:04.558,0:06:06.650
It was really important for us

0:06:06.840,0:06:10.144
to make the space feel[br]a lot bigger than it actually is.

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And some of the strategies[br]we used for this

0:06:12.855,0:06:15.245
were the high ceilings with the louvers,

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white walls,

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views were carefully organised[br]through and down the space,

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and strategic placement of some mirrors.

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Of course, aesthetics aside,[br]

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it was important that it functions[br]really well as a house.

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So in such a small home,[br]storage was really important.

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We had to exploit every[br]opportunity we could:

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under the floor, in the walls,[br]around the wheel-arches, in the furniture.

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Of course, as well,[br]we had to enact different scenarios

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of how the space would be used.

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So, what would we do[br]when we had guests over?

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How could the space be rearranged[br]for different activities of the day?

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So far, the capacity has been 30.

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(Laughter)

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In designing the house,

0:07:05.638,0:07:09.163
we had to fit a lot of things[br]into quite a small space.

0:07:10.623,0:07:13.347
But for us, the ultimate[br]measure of success

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was were we able to retain[br]the essence of a home.

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Sure, it's not for everyone,[br]but it suits us well.

0:07:21.610,0:07:25.212
Being built on a trailer meant[br]that there are many alternatives

0:07:25.212,0:07:27.022
for how the space is used.

0:07:27.022,0:07:30.845
People who own land[br]could expand their space

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by adding an additional[br]bit of accommodation.

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Those that don't own land,[br]it can open up many options for them.

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And that is the case[br]with my partner and I.

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Arrangements can be made,[br]and if you bring your home with you,

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it's amazing where[br]you can find places to live.

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There's also opportunities for people[br]who have live-in workers

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or dependent family members,

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even holiday accommodation.

0:07:58.333,0:08:01.696
Of course, there's also[br]further things to consider

0:08:01.696,0:08:03.807
with movable, small modular homes

0:08:04.297,0:08:10.505
about disaster relief housing,[br]and communities that want to be off-grid,

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or more remote properties.

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And a tiny house[br]that can function fully off-grid

0:08:18.184,0:08:20.589
works well in those scenarios. [br]

0:08:20.985,0:08:26.250
Another issue that is worth briefly[br]mentioning is our aging population,

0:08:26.250,0:08:29.918
and various different ways our housing

0:08:29.918,0:08:32.378
might not be tailored[br]well enough for that,

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and how small dwellings could be used

0:08:34.147,0:08:39.557
either in the property of children[br]for elderly parents,

0:08:39.557,0:08:42.377
or even in the back[br]of their own properties,

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and they could rent[br]or sell their larger house,

0:08:46.942,0:08:49.280
and still stay in their own community.

0:08:49.280,0:08:54.045
With a bit of creative thinking[br]and collaboration with counsels,

0:08:54.045,0:08:58.006
developers, neighbors, friends, family,

0:08:58.672,0:09:03.085
I believe we could overcome[br]a lot of issues we have with our housing.

0:09:03.515,0:09:08.403
Whether we like it or not,[br]our housing is a reflection of who we are

0:09:08.403,0:09:10.622
and what we value as a society.

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So the status quo of Australian[br]housing should concern us.

0:09:16.924,0:09:22.520
We are building bigger and bigger houses,[br]and we need not; perhaps we should not.

0:09:23.369,0:09:26.502
I don't want to try and convince[br]you all to live in a tiny house.

0:09:27.114,0:09:30.794
What I would like to pose is a challenge[br]

0:09:31.184,0:09:33.804
to dismiss our preconceptions,

0:09:33.804,0:09:38.413
to put aside those preconceptions[br]about our home and to really think

0:09:39.217,0:09:41.544
what do we want our home to provide.

0:09:41.894,0:09:44.949
I think that only[br]when we get to that point

0:09:44.949,0:09:50.419
can we reflect on what's really important[br]in our homes, and our lifestyles.

0:09:50.708,0:09:53.278
It's very difficult[br]to put a price on a lifestyle.

0:09:53.608,0:09:57.301
But for me, it's definitely[br]worth more than the fourth bedroom.

0:09:57.744,0:09:59.584
(Applause)