The Ausly House: An affordable & sustainable house made from Australian products. Part 1: Intro
Updated: Apr 10
Follow the journey of designing & building The Ausly, from idea to completion.
The dream: to build a home in a wine region, close to the beach, less than an hour to a major city... that is affordable.
The dwelling also needs to be low maintenance, durable and beautiful, an investment that can be enjoyed.
As 2020 rolls on so does the economic uncertainty... investing in and championing our Australian suppliers seemed an equally important factor. Why can't this house be designed and built using 100% Australian made products (or as close to as possible)?
Challenge accepted.
Why?
To support local businesses, and the economy by showcasing Australian made products.
To educate consumers to ask their designers and builders where the building products come from, and if they can specify Australian made equivalents.
To test the theory that building with Australian made products can be just as cost-effective, durable and beautiful as building with overseas products.
Ideally, an upshot of this case study will be to increase awareness and demand for Australian made products and identify gaps in the market.
What you’ll learn from this case study:
Learn from my hurdles, what Australian Made products are available for residential construction and those that are yet to be manufactured here.
How I go about making decisions, sourcing products and researching suppliers.
What the upfront cost differences are when choosing local products (it would be great to touch on lifecycle costs too, I'll see what I can dig up).
Learn about location and site selection, design, certification and build processes.
How to avoid waste when designing.
What my builder thinks about the design, buildability and associated labour costs of certain materials.
If you are building your own home, don't miss out on this valuable info that could save you time, money and heartache.
If you are an Australian supplier who manufacturers locally using predominantly Australian components or raw materials, please get in touch to tell me about your product and processes.
Holly is an accredited building designer, director of Holly & Co. a building and interior design studio based in Adelaide.