Canberra-based design and building company Jigsaw Housing has created a series of affordable, energy-efficient house designs with the help of the local community.
The community-based project, called 8 Stars for $200,000, aims to design a house with an 8 Star energy efficiency rating (EER) that can be built for $200,000. The hope is that this will make efficient, comfortable houses accessible to the wider community.
Jigsaw Housing held a community workshop in September 2011 to find out what people wanted in a house. The workshop looked at a variety of topics, such as how people use space, the essential components of a home and accommodating changing needs over time.
Suggestions at the workshop were divided into three categories: needed, desirable and not needed. The results showed three essential criteria: 45 percent of the participants wanted light, 37.5 percent of the participants wanted warmth and 35 percent stressed a connection to the outdoors. Features that many people considered unnecessary included theatre rooms, large bedrooms, double garages, a separate laundry, formal living and dining rooms, en suites and baths. The information from the workshop was collated along with thoughts and ideas that were gathered from the project’s Facebook and Twitter discussions.
In December 2011, Jigsaw Housing presented the design concept at a community event where all previous participants were invited to take part. Once finalized, the community-owned designs will be available for anybody to build.
Given the design’s modular nature it can be configured and orientated in a variety of ways. This allows the design to be adapted for the different climates throughout Australia and EER Star ratings can be calculated for each option. The modules also allow the houses to grow and change as the occupants’ needs change.
Visit the Jigsaw Housing website for more information.
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