A New Zealand architecture company has designed a three-bedroom house that three people can assemble in six weeks for $335,000.
RTA Studio just constructed its first ‘Living House’ in Rotorua.
It is 85sqm and designed for quick assembly once the foundations are in place, the cost includes a functional kitchen with appliances as well as flooring, lighting, carpets and heating. It does not include the land value.
It’s really specifically tailored to reduce the labour required. I think the quality reduction is in the design, it’s not exactly the prettiest, they said all plumbing and electronics are designed to be together to reduce tradesman hours (does that mean you don’t get hotpoints in convenient places?), all will be exactly the same (you can already get cheaper houses by mass producing the exact same design).
I am also not a fan of high ceilings, which can be hard to heat. Corrugated iron for all cladding is nice and cheap but not exactly the nicest looking.
I wonder how this compares functionally to a flat pack house. It might not be that much different, in terms of both price and function.
Simplifying design is exactly what should be the answer to a housing crisis IMO. Nowadays we build too many houses with upper middle-class designs (and costs) because they’re the only people who can actually afford houses.
But go back to the sorts of builds from the 70s & 80s. Typically around 100-120m2, 3 bedroom, rectangular. Yeah they’re not architectural delights, but they kept families dry and warm.
Nowadays in a lot of places we’re building in-fill town houses with a similar aesthetic and I know a lot of people don’t like it but I think overall its probably a good idea. Even in smaller centres like Hastings it can work so long as we get the community spaces right as well.