1
00:00:09,156 --> 00:00:11,636
Some of my friends have bought a house,

2
00:00:11,636 --> 00:00:13,966
a reasonably priced,
three or four bedroom.

3
00:00:14,606 --> 00:00:18,227
Not expensive, but enough to tie them
to a 30-year mortgage.

4
00:00:19,087 --> 00:00:22,607
They work a nine-hour day, and travel
two hours to get there and back.

5
00:00:24,167 --> 00:00:27,709
By the time they get home, relax, sleep;

6
00:00:27,709 --> 00:00:29,999
they have to get up and do it all again.

7
00:00:31,209 --> 00:00:34,060
Sometimes they say
they feel a little bit trapped.

8
00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:38,451
Realistically, half of the rooms
in that house are empty all the time.

9
00:00:38,991 --> 00:00:41,681
And they're always looking forward
to their next holiday,

10
00:00:41,681 --> 00:00:43,051
away from it all -

11
00:00:43,051 --> 00:00:44,611
the house included.

12
00:00:45,361 --> 00:00:47,401
Apparently, this is quite normal.

13
00:00:47,891 --> 00:00:50,951
My partner Andrew and I
are at about this point in our lives.

14
00:00:51,912 --> 00:00:56,762
But the idea of striving for this kind
of lifestyle seems out of balance.

15
00:00:58,042 --> 00:01:01,494
Health, nature, and time
feels like it's being traded

16
00:01:01,494 --> 00:01:03,294
for house, money, and stuff.

17
00:01:04,504 --> 00:01:09,055
I guess, most of us follow the same path:
buy as much as we can afford,

18
00:01:09,055 --> 00:01:14,706
in the best area we can afford, 
and adjust our lifestyles to suit.

19
00:01:16,136 --> 00:01:19,326
Usually this means
a big house in the suburbs

20
00:01:19,326 --> 00:01:20,927
with a bit of a commute.

21
00:01:22,817 --> 00:01:26,987
The problem I have with this is that
I believe our physical environments

22
00:01:26,987 --> 00:01:29,767
enforce habits, both good and bad.

23
00:01:30,677 --> 00:01:33,790
We build the world's biggest houses, 
and fill them with stuff,

24
00:01:34,119 --> 00:01:36,160
worsening our ecological footprint.

25
00:01:36,980 --> 00:01:39,466
Many of our houses are quite insular,

26
00:01:39,466 --> 00:01:42,410
turning their backs on neighbors
and the public street.

27
00:01:43,070 --> 00:01:46,061
We take out crippling mortgages

28
00:01:46,061 --> 00:01:49,061
in our pursuit for the great
Australian dream,

29
00:01:49,061 --> 00:01:53,531
and sacrifice our welfare,
our relationships, and our hobbies.

30
00:01:53,988 --> 00:01:55,909
So this was a bit of a problem for us.

31
00:01:55,909 --> 00:01:59,683
What we really wanted was something
a lot smaller and more flexible

32
00:01:59,683 --> 00:02:01,729
than what the market offered.

33
00:02:02,529 --> 00:02:05,722
We wanted to buy something
within our means,

34
00:02:06,915 --> 00:02:12,474
and have our lifestyle adapt our home,
not the other way around.

35
00:02:13,155 --> 00:02:17,705
Our homes could be so much more,
and take so much less.

36
00:02:17,707 --> 00:02:21,076
They could offer us easy ways
to process our own waste,

37
00:02:21,666 --> 00:02:23,606
or recycle our water.

38
00:02:24,406 --> 00:02:28,517
They could offer us ways to collect
and monitor our energy usage,

39
00:02:29,486 --> 00:02:31,507
or foster connected communities.

40
00:02:33,648 --> 00:02:37,588
And of course, like many problems,
this isn't just a personal problem,

41
00:02:37,588 --> 00:02:40,808
this issue is broader;
it's on the national and global scale.

42
00:02:41,989 --> 00:02:46,809
Our homes demand huge amounts
of energy to build and operate.

43
00:02:47,349 --> 00:02:51,062
Not only this, but they produce
large amounts of waste.

44
00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:56,001
And the land clearing required
for new low-density development

45
00:02:56,001 --> 00:02:57,701
is an ongoing problem.

46
00:02:59,151 --> 00:03:03,951
And yet, we stubbornly march forward,
building bigger and bigger houses yearly.

47
00:03:05,551 --> 00:03:10,283
The average floor plan size
or the average area of our houses

48
00:03:10,283 --> 00:03:13,123
has steadily grown over the past 15 years.

49
00:03:13,673 --> 00:03:17,933
And simultaneously, the number of people
living in these houses has declined.

50
00:03:18,404 --> 00:03:23,404
And to top it all off, many of us
can't even afford to buy a house.

51
00:03:24,502 --> 00:03:28,815
The average price of our houses
in Australian capital cities

52
00:03:28,815 --> 00:03:32,376
is now more than seven times
our average annual income.

53
00:03:33,097 --> 00:03:34,537
That's huge. 


54
00:03:34,537 --> 00:03:39,247
So the last year my partner and I,
and a builder-mate of ours,

55
00:03:40,147 --> 00:03:45,738
teamed up with his small crew as well,
to design and build an alternative.

56
00:03:46,898 --> 00:03:50,789
Something based on our desires,
and not the market expectations.

57
00:03:51,359 --> 00:03:54,449
You may have heard of the term,
a "tiny house" before.

58
00:03:54,449 --> 00:03:58,330
In our case, it's essentially
a fully functioning house

59
00:03:58,330 --> 00:04:01,220
condensed down into 18 square meters,

60
00:04:01,910 --> 00:04:05,321
which is two car-parking spaces.

61
00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,912
The product is a home
that is transportable,

62
00:04:10,912 --> 00:04:13,083
more affordable than the average house,

63
00:04:13,083 --> 00:04:16,253
and also, more environmentally friendly.

64
00:04:17,053 --> 00:04:18,913
So let me give you a quick tour.

65
00:04:18,913 --> 00:04:20,614
The house is built on a trailer,

66
00:04:20,614 --> 00:04:24,414
so you can tow a fully functioning house
onto site and park it there.

67
00:04:25,184 --> 00:04:27,325
You enter the house via the deck.

68
00:04:27,915 --> 00:04:31,783
The deck is made up of modular panels,
that attach to the side of the house

69
00:04:31,783 --> 00:04:34,735
when you arrive on site,
doubling the width.

70
00:04:34,735 --> 00:04:39,215
The doors and windows are made
of recycled floor joists of old cottages,

71
00:04:39,215 --> 00:04:43,658
and this recycled timber-fill
is continued through on the bench tops,

72
00:04:43,658 --> 00:04:47,629
the shelves, and the decking boards.

73
00:04:49,349 --> 00:04:51,596
Because space is such an issue,

74
00:04:51,596 --> 00:04:55,361
it was important to maintain
good views through the house.

75
00:04:55,361 --> 00:04:57,504
So the front entry windows and doors

76
00:04:57,504 --> 00:05:01,665
line up with the windows
in front of the kitchen.

77
00:05:02,915 --> 00:05:06,648
Once inside, you are presented
with long views through the house.

78
00:05:07,290 --> 00:05:12,138
The rhythm of the portal frames
helps to organise the space,

79
00:05:12,458 --> 00:05:15,502
and reduce the feeling of clutter.

80
00:05:16,802 --> 00:05:20,786
Up one end, is an L-shaped
lounge space,

81
00:05:21,116 --> 00:05:24,967
and behind that
is floor-to-ceiling storage.

82
00:05:25,368 --> 00:05:27,610
By day, this is a lounge space,

83
00:05:27,610 --> 00:05:30,729
and by night, a bed
is lowered down from the ceiling.

84
00:05:31,115 --> 00:05:34,364
In the central space,
on one side is the kitchen bench,

85
00:05:34,364 --> 00:05:36,274
and on the other side is a narrow bench,

86
00:05:36,274 --> 00:05:40,449
which turns into the vanity
and the laundry space.

87
00:05:40,449 --> 00:05:42,309
And at the far end is the bathroom,

88
00:05:42,309 --> 00:05:45,435
which is separated from
the main space by a sliding door.

89
00:05:46,126 --> 00:05:51,144
The bathroom contains a full-size shower,
and a composting toilet,

90
00:05:51,144 --> 00:05:54,429
because this one was designed
to be able to be off-grid.

91
00:05:54,774 --> 00:05:57,024
Above the backroom space is a loft,

92
00:05:57,024 --> 00:05:59,858
which could be used
as additional sleeping space

93
00:05:59,858 --> 00:06:04,118
for a double or a queen bed,
or for more storage space.

94
00:06:04,558 --> 00:06:06,650
It was really important for us

95
00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:10,144
to make the space feel
a lot bigger than it actually is.

96
00:06:10,144 --> 00:06:12,555
And some of the strategies
we used for this

97
00:06:12,855 --> 00:06:15,245
were the high ceilings with the louvers,

98
00:06:15,245 --> 00:06:16,534
white walls,

99
00:06:17,014 --> 00:06:21,119
views were carefully organised
through and down the space,

100
00:06:21,569 --> 00:06:23,889
and strategic placement of some mirrors.

101
00:06:23,889 --> 00:06:26,722
Of course, aesthetics aside,


102
00:06:26,722 --> 00:06:29,635
it was important that it functions
really well as a house.

103
00:06:30,025 --> 00:06:33,421
So in such a small home,
storage was really important.

104
00:06:33,421 --> 00:06:36,033
We had to exploit every
opportunity we could:

105
00:06:36,033 --> 00:06:41,510
under the floor, in the walls,
around the wheel-arches, in the furniture.

106
00:06:41,510 --> 00:06:44,540
Of course, as well,
we had to enact different scenarios

107
00:06:44,540 --> 00:06:46,475
of how the space would be used.

108
00:06:46,475 --> 00:06:49,850
So, what would we do
when we had guests over?

109
00:06:49,850 --> 00:06:54,584
How could the space be rearranged
for different activities of the day?

110
00:06:55,374 --> 00:06:58,943
So far, the capacity has been 30.

111
00:06:59,633 --> 00:07:01,313
(Laughter)

112
00:07:03,583 --> 00:07:05,638
In designing the house,

113
00:07:05,638 --> 00:07:09,163
we had to fit a lot of things
into quite a small space.

114
00:07:10,623 --> 00:07:13,347
But for us, the ultimate
measure of success

115
00:07:13,347 --> 00:07:17,023
was were we able to retain
the essence of a home.

116
00:07:17,783 --> 00:07:21,207
Sure, it's not for everyone,
but it suits us well.

117
00:07:21,610 --> 00:07:25,212
Being built on a trailer meant
that there are many alternatives

118
00:07:25,212 --> 00:07:27,022
for how the space is used.

119
00:07:27,022 --> 00:07:30,845
People who own land
could expand their space

120
00:07:30,845 --> 00:07:34,204
by adding an additional
bit of accommodation.

121
00:07:34,654 --> 00:07:37,724
Those that don't own land,
it can open up many options for them.

122
00:07:37,724 --> 00:07:40,184
And that is the case
with my partner and I.

123
00:07:40,739 --> 00:07:43,755
Arrangements can be made,
and if you bring your home with you,

124
00:07:43,755 --> 00:07:46,221
it's amazing where
you can find places to live.

125
00:07:46,221 --> 00:07:51,450
There's also opportunities for people
who have live-in workers

126
00:07:51,450 --> 00:07:54,893
or dependent family members,

127
00:07:55,243 --> 00:07:57,593
even holiday accommodation.

128
00:07:58,333 --> 00:08:01,696
Of course, there's also
further things to consider

129
00:08:01,696 --> 00:08:03,807
with movable, small modular homes

130
00:08:04,297 --> 00:08:10,505
about disaster relief housing,
and communities that want to be off-grid,

131
00:08:10,505 --> 00:08:13,685
or more remote properties.

132
00:08:13,952 --> 00:08:18,184
And a tiny house
that can function fully off-grid

133
00:08:18,184 --> 00:08:20,589
works well in those scenarios. 


134
00:08:20,985 --> 00:08:26,250
Another issue that is worth briefly
mentioning is our aging population,

135
00:08:26,250 --> 00:08:29,918
and various different ways our housing

136
00:08:29,918 --> 00:08:32,378
might not be tailored
well enough for that,

137
00:08:32,378 --> 00:08:34,147
and how small dwellings could be used

138
00:08:34,147 --> 00:08:39,557
either in the property of children
for elderly parents,

139
00:08:39,557 --> 00:08:42,377
or even in the back
of their own properties,

140
00:08:42,377 --> 00:08:45,338
and they could rent
or sell their larger house,

141
00:08:46,942 --> 00:08:49,280
and still stay in their own community.

142
00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:54,045
With a bit of creative thinking
and collaboration with counsels,

143
00:08:54,045 --> 00:08:58,006
developers, neighbors, friends, family,

144
00:08:58,672 --> 00:09:03,085
I believe we could overcome
a lot of issues we have with our housing.

145
00:09:03,515 --> 00:09:08,403
Whether we like it or not,
our housing is a reflection of who we are

146
00:09:08,403 --> 00:09:10,622
and what we value as a society.

147
00:09:12,022 --> 00:09:16,154
So the status quo of Australian
housing should concern us.

148
00:09:16,924 --> 00:09:22,520
We are building bigger and bigger houses,
and we need not; perhaps we should not.

149
00:09:23,369 --> 00:09:26,502
I don't want to try and convince
you all to live in a tiny house.

150
00:09:27,114 --> 00:09:30,794
What I would like to pose is a challenge


151
00:09:31,184 --> 00:09:33,804
to dismiss our preconceptions,

152
00:09:33,804 --> 00:09:38,413
to put aside those preconceptions
about our home and to really think

153
00:09:39,217 --> 00:09:41,544
what do we want our home to provide.

154
00:09:41,894 --> 00:09:44,949
I think that only
when we get to that point

155
00:09:44,949 --> 00:09:50,419
can we reflect on what's really important
in our homes, and our lifestyles.

156
00:09:50,708 --> 00:09:53,278
It's very difficult
to put a price on a lifestyle.

157
00:09:53,608 --> 00:09:57,301
But for me, it's definitely
worth more than the fourth bedroom.

158
00:09:57,744 --> 00:09:59,584
(Applause)