Did you just watch Grand Designs on the telly? Read on for Australia’s answer to the Huf Haus, by Australian architects.
The story of pre-fabricated homes is littered with references to ‘kit home’ and ‘country cottage’; the term ‘good design’ rarely gets a look-in.
In Europe, companies such as Huf Haus – with precise German efficiency – have revolutionised the pre-fabricated housing market, taking design to the next level.
The trend is now taking hold in Australia, with new firm, Happy Haus, taking its lead from its German forebears to create ‘pre-made’ homes (a purposeful deviation from the ‘pre-fab’ tag) suited to the Australian climate.
The idea behind Happy Haus is to provide architecturally-designed homes with minimal build-time and on-site construction.
“In addition to their design attributes,” explains Happy Haus founder Toby Lewis, “each home is produced in a specialised factory to ensure quality, cost control and time efficiency, all of which benefit the end consumer with money, time and effort all kept to a minimum.”
According to Lewis, this efficiency means it takes just 4 – 12 weeks to complete a Happy Haus home, trucked in and bolted straight onto screw-pile foundations.
Designs are also modular, and can potentially be relocated, encouraging a more sustainable approach to home building – allowing the house to ‘grow’ with its inhabitants.
The designs have received a great deal of media coverage – some heralding the approach as a re-invention of the pre-fab industry – with Queensland firms Donovan Hill and Owen and Vokes responsible the first two ranges – the ‘DHAN SERIES’ and ‘WHITE SERIES’. New ranges will soon be available from Sydney and Melbourne architects, Drubach and Block and O’Connor and Houle.
The base-model 1-bedroom home starts at around $100,000 with 3-bedroom homes starting from around $210,000. If you’re near Brisbane, you can visit the display Happy Haus on the Corner of Tribune and Grey Streets, South Bank.
Happy Haus
happyhaus.com.au
