With costs souring, population growth etc, now is the time to design suburbs for compact homes

Average home size = 175m2.
Compact home = 37 m2

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics, the most common house configuration in Australia is a three bedroom house making up 38.8%. Therefore, it is safe to assume the average size of a new 3 bedroom house in Australia is about 175m2.

https://buildsearch.com.au/house-size

Small homes

The tiny-house movement (also known as the “small-house movement”) is an architectural and social movement that advocates living simply in small homes. As of 2018 there is no set definition as to what constitutes a tiny house. However, a residential structure under 400 square feet (37 m2) is generally considered a tiny home. The tiny-house movement promotes financial prudence, economically safe, shared community experiences, and a shift in consumerism-driven mindsets.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_house_movement

Happening anyway with land prices, around Burwood blocks of four three bedroom houses are being brought up and developed into three story apartment units. And with an existing tram system it’s perfect infrastructure.

AwesomeO said:

Happening anyway with land prices, around Burwood blocks of four three bedroom houses are being brought up and developed into three story apartment units. And with an existing tram system it’s perfect infrastructure.

Yes, but its a mixture of this and that in Melbourne and Sydney.

A whole suburb of compact homes would maximize space for that kind of living

Different to say a whole suburb of high rise apartments or a whole suburb of medium to large homes

Your picture really shows just home-made caravans.

East Africa has tiny houses. The circular earth-walled houses are one room each. Rectangular houses tend to be two rooms.

Having a whole suburb all the same is a horrible idea.

What advantage do you see over having some diversity of options in all suburbs?

If Australia was sim city I would have a mega sprawl, all the green cropping and fertile soil left alone in massive green belts, houses of all densities out in the bad lands. Spoke system strip mall roads, ugly as hell but decentralised and with trams, the cities are small, international business and government.

I hate tiny houses. They are not suitable for my needs and I’d go crazy in a tiny house.

>The tiny-house movement promotes financial prudence, economically safe, shared community experiences, and a shift in consumerism-driven mindsets.

I am financially prudent, I generally don’t like “shared community experiences” in a physical sense (I like quiet neighbours who keep to themselves, or preferably, no neighbours at all) and I don’t have a consumerism-driven mindset.

I bet there are many people in the tiny house movement who are much more consumer-centred and carbon-bad than I am, and who are very conscious about getting the “best” shitty tiny house, competing with others to get the most social meeja likes for it etc.

Bubblecar said:

I hate tiny houses. They are not suitable for my needs and I’d go crazy in a tiny house.

I would suppose they are suitable for people who don’t spend much time at home.

need to breed little people, or genetically engineer lilliputians and blefuscutians, or a special education starting not long after birth to help people adjust to (what would otherwise be) confinement. Some isolation and Skinnerian conditioning maybe.

why not just heads on a nutrient stick, imagine the saving without a body. Plugged straight into a TV signal, no need for one on the wall.

dv said:

Bubblecar said:

I hate tiny houses. They are not suitable for my needs and I’d go crazy in a tiny house.

I would suppose they are suitable for people who don’t spend much time at home.

Yes, which is why I’m rather puzzled as to why Tau finds them appealing. They’re not really designed for introverts who spend most of their time at home.

OTOH if you look at the tiny house movement websites, there’s not much talk about living in them. They tend to be obsessed with the material side of it. It’s all about the design and building and equipping them.

I’m sure many of these people, once their tiny house is completed, rapidly tire of it and move onto some other housing fad that enables them to again obsess about what they need to buy, how it will look blah blah blah.

And they’ll say, “The tiny house movement had me excited for a while and I still say it’s a good idea, but I don’t know, it wasn’t really for me – I guess I’m always seeking new challenges blah blah bah.”

dv said:

Bubblecar said:

I hate tiny houses. They are not suitable for my needs and I’d go crazy in a tiny house.

I would suppose they are suitable for people who don’t spend much time at home.

wouldn’t apartments be better for single living, lots of money folk?

Arts said:

dv said:

Bubblecar said:

I hate tiny houses. They are not suitable for my needs and I’d go crazy in a tiny house.

I would suppose they are suitable for people who don’t spend much time at home.

wouldn’t apartments be better for single living, lots of money folk?

I have been assuming that these trailer parks are not aimed at lots of money folk.

dv said:

Arts said:

dv said:

I would suppose they are suitable for people who don’t spend much time at home.

wouldn’t apartments be better for single living, lots of money folk?

I have been assuming that these trailer parks are not aimed at lots of money folk.

#vanlife …

>I’m sure many of these people, once their tiny house is completed, rapidly tire of it and move onto some other housing fad that enables them to again obsess about what they need to buy, how it will look blah blah blah.

half a step from the homeless being offered a trolley to but their swag on, car.

don’t be too sneering now of the new world of micro-entertainments, you know it’s a big part of peoples interest in politicians, and all manner of entertainments.

transition said:

>I’m sure many of these people, once their tiny house is completed, rapidly tire of it and move onto some other housing fad that enables them to again obsess about what they need to buy, how it will look blah blah blah.

half a step from the homeless being offered a trolley to but their swag on, car.

don’t be too sneering now of the new world of micro-entertainments, you know it’s a big part of peoples interest in politicians, and all manner of entertainments.

I wouldn’t build a house much different to what I have even if I won a large sum of money.
I’d make it independent as possible including hydroponic/aquaponic growing powered via renewable power.

Small homes are not for everyone .

I don’t have any obsessions with small homes, just find them of interest, how people use spaces etc.

A large number of big to medium sized homes have lots of wasted space while smaller homes maximize the available use of space.

What is so bad about a whole suburb for small homes?

We already have whole suburbs for medium large homes which look the same like they all the same architect.

Designers should look to variations of mixing small room designs with larger room designs.

Some clever use of space could arise from that.

nobody’s mentioned a tardis, i’m not sure it needs travel through time to be bigger on the inside than out, if you could just have that latter feature, no doctor and perhaps not a police phone box, I can see potential.

you’d think with all the technical wizardry these days someone would have invented such a thing

transition said:

nobody’s mentioned a tardis, i’m not sure it needs travel through time to be bigger on the inside than out, if you could just have that latter feature, no doctor and perhaps not a police phone box, I can see potential.

you’d think with all the technical wizardry these days someone would have invented such a thing

Not a good ides with our ageing population. They’d never find anything in a Tardis.

Has pod / capsule housing ever been proposed for the homeless?

What It’s Like To Stay At A Japanese Capsule Hotel

These can be made at various sizes to accommodate different size populations of homeless people.

Picture the above on a semi truck for mobile capsule housing.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Picture the above on a semi truck for mobile capsule housing.

Many nursing home residents have one room and a bathroom and seem OK with it.

I wonder if you could have a click together modular home and can remove entire rooms when they are no longer needed

Tamb said:

transition said:

nobody’s mentioned a tardis, i’m not sure it needs travel through time to be bigger on the inside than out, if you could just have that latter feature, no doctor and perhaps not a police phone box, I can see potential.

you’d think with all the technical wizardry these days someone would have invented such a thing

Not a good ides with our ageing population. They’d never find anything in a Tardis.

i’m pondering, tempted now to ask neutrino how the inside of my head feels bigger than it looks on the outside.

Cymek said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Picture the above on a semi truck for mobile capsule housing.

Many nursing home residents have one room and a bathroom and seem OK with it.

I wonder if you could have a click together modular home and can remove entire rooms when they are no longer needed

The nursing homes like that have communal space, meals prepared & supplied etc.

transition said:

Tamb said:

transition said:

nobody’s mentioned a tardis, i’m not sure it needs travel through time to be bigger on the inside than out, if you could just have that latter feature, no doctor and perhaps not a police phone box, I can see potential.

you’d think with all the technical wizardry these days someone would have invented such a thing

Not a good ides with our ageing population. They’d never find anything in a Tardis.

i’m pondering, tempted now to ask neutrino how the inside of my head feels bigger than it looks on the outside.

At a guess

Millions of neural networks.

Interesting question

I wonder what the average size of “perceived brain space” is ?

Larger or smaller than the actual head space ?

Tamb said:

Cymek said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Picture the above on a semi truck for mobile capsule housing.

Many nursing home residents have one room and a bathroom and seem OK with it.

I wonder if you could have a click together modular home and can remove entire rooms when they are no longer needed

The nursing homes like that have communal space, meals prepared & supplied etc.

True
My house is only half utilised thanks to a hoarder (not me) and I wouldn’t actually know what to do with the spare space if it was cleared, we’ve adapted

Tau.Neutrino said:

transition said:

Tamb said:

Not a good ides with our ageing population. They’d never find anything in a Tardis.

i’m pondering, tempted now to ask neutrino how the inside of my head feels bigger than it looks on the outside.

At a guess

Millions of neural networks.

Interesting question

I wonder what the average size of “perceived brain space” is ?

Larger or smaller than the actual head space ?

The body is good at utilising various folding’s, coiling’s, usual shapes to increase surface area, etc in a compact space

The study of how people use living spaces could be very useful for extra terrestrial settlements, large city sized spaceships and moon bases etc

I think Australia needs to increase its manufacturing sector.

Tau.Neutrino said:

I think Australia needs to increase its manufacturing sector.

Create some companies that can make portable capsule housing.

Sell them here and overseas.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

I think Australia needs to increase its manufacturing sector.

Create some companies that can make portable capsule housing.

Sell them here and overseas.

Train, truck and bus companies could do that.

Tau.Neutrino said:

The study of how people use living spaces could be very useful for extra terrestrial settlements, large city sized spaceships and moon bases etc

I wonder what the range is what what the average is for peoples preference for space?

some people prefer larger spaces

some prefer smaller spaces

I don’t mind caravan space, for sleeping, eating, computer space etc

Larger spaces for working etc

The study of how people use living spaces could be very useful for extra terrestrial settlements, large city sized spaceships and moon bases etc

I wonder what the range is what what the average is for peoples preference for space?

Some people prefer larger spaces, some prefer smaller spaces.

Space agencies have started work on simulated spaces for Mars and moon missions etc

Claustrophobia types would benefit larger spaces.

Spaces for individuals and spaces shared between people.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

The study of how people use living spaces could be very useful for extra terrestrial settlements, large city sized spaceships and moon bases etc

I wonder what the range is what what the average is for peoples preference for space?

some people prefer larger spaces

some prefer smaller spaces

I don’t mind caravan space, for sleeping, eating, computer space etc

Larger spaces for working etc

My current house is quite big for one person but still seems too compact to me.

My ideal house would be a sprawling place overlooking its own lake and forests.

There was a time in my life when this might have worked for me, if it were much, MUCH cheaper than a one bedroom apartment, when I was newly graduated and single, had negative money, and was working 80 to 90 hours a week.

Tau.Neutrino said:

The study of how people use living spaces could be very useful for extra terrestrial settlements, large city sized spaceships and moon bases etc

I used to watch a renovation show where they did this.. spent a week or so with tags on people and plotted their movements through their house, where they spent the most time, and when etc

Bubblecar said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

The study of how people use living spaces could be very useful for extra terrestrial settlements, large city sized spaceships and moon bases etc

I wonder what the range is what what the average is for peoples preference for space?

some people prefer larger spaces

some prefer smaller spaces

I don’t mind caravan space, for sleeping, eating, computer space etc

Larger spaces for working etc

My current house is quite big for one person but still seems too compact to me.

My ideal house would be a sprawling place overlooking its own lake and forests.

good god, you’d be forever cleaning

Arts said:

Bubblecar said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

I wonder what the range is what what the average is for peoples preference for space?

some people prefer larger spaces

some prefer smaller spaces

I don’t mind caravan space, for sleeping, eating, computer space etc

Larger spaces for working etc

My current house is quite big for one person but still seems too compact to me.

My ideal house would be a sprawling place overlooking its own lake and forests.

good god, you’d be forever cleaning

:)

I’d have servants for that. But they’d have to live in their own cottage on the outskirts of the estate.

Tau.Neutrino said:

The study of how people use living spaces could be very useful for extra terrestrial settlements, large city sized spaceships and moon bases etc

I wonder what the range is what what the average is for peoples preference for space?

Some people prefer larger spaces, some prefer smaller spaces.

Space agencies have started work on simulated spaces for Mars and moon missions etc

Claustrophobia types would benefit larger spaces.

Spaces for individuals and spaces shared between people.

We know from hot desk offices and submarines with hot bunking, people really appreciate a space of their own, no matter how small. If everyone has a tiny compartment there is no envy, people just like to decorate as they like and have something they put down to stay there.

It may be only a hole in the ground covered by a sheet of tarpaulin, but it was a house to us.

Arts said:

Bubblecar said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

I wonder what the range is what what the average is for peoples preference for space?

some people prefer larger spaces

some prefer smaller spaces

I don’t mind caravan space, for sleeping, eating, computer space etc

Larger spaces for working etc

My current house is quite big for one person but still seems too compact to me.

My ideal house would be a sprawling place overlooking its own lake and forests.

good god, you’d be forever cleaning

He already vacuums way more than I do, and I’ve got dogs in the house.

Tau.Neutrino said:

That is very expensive for an air bnb.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Giant potato? More like a giant woofer egg…

My wife and I lived in a mobile home for over 5 years when we bought our first bush property. It had a large bedroom with robes, bathroom with a shower and wc, a lounge where we could watch tv, plus a spacious kitchen with mod cons. We did not feel cramped for space, but the storage space was certainly a little short. Mind you we were both young and newly married with relatively few possessions. You would certainly need additional space after years of accumulation, unless you were very good at throwing stuff out, but still you don’t need as much stuff as you do in a house, so not that hard to deal with.

Most people tend to live in certain sections of the house and use the rest very occasionally and could quite easily do away with them. The one big space saver was it was before public PC use, so didn’t need a desk and all that clutter, although probably even that could be squeezed into a corner of the lounge. We were not particularly conscience of being restricted in our accommodation and it did have the advantage of being quick and easy to clean and to put stuff away. We built a two story place on the property, so ended up with more space than we needed, but was certainly more comfortable as we settled into married life and the things you tend to collect, plus if you have the room you spread out and use much more than is necessarily.

I do and don’t like the idea of a compact home, depending on circumstances.

I do when either:

• It’s a casual stay place that is only used for sleeping and microwaving.
• A small rustic place on a big piece of beautiful nature where work is always outdoors.
• It’s a jail for solitary confinement.
• The only occupant is too old to walk more than 10 metres.
• A huge amount of money has been spent on design.

I do not when either:

• Work from home
• Slum neighbourhood
• Cyclone neighbourhood or subject to flooding
• Kids
• More than one car, even 1 car can be too many for a tiny home.

AwesomeO said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

The study of how people use living spaces could be very useful for extra terrestrial settlements, large city sized spaceships and moon bases etc

I wonder what the range is what what the average is for peoples preference for space?

Some people prefer larger spaces, some prefer smaller spaces.

Space agencies have started work on simulated spaces for Mars and moon missions etc

Claustrophobia types would benefit larger spaces.

Spaces for individuals and spaces shared between people.

We know from hot desk offices and submarines with hot bunking, people really appreciate a space of their own, no matter how small. If everyone has a tiny compartment there is no envy, people just like to decorate as they like and have something they put down to stay there.

It may be only a hole in the ground covered by a sheet of tarpaulin, but it was a house to us.

Eeeh – you were lucky …

Suburbs for compact homes = caravan parks.

why are these compact homes towed, I ask, rather tan self-propelled

comic imagery of goodies driving around in a house

asks lady….what was that episode about

transition said:

why are these compact homes towed, I ask, rather tan self-propelled

comic imagery of goodies driving around in a house

asks lady….what was that episode about

space I guess, engine and all takes up space, and you may want your car to drive somewhere

impressive how everything makes sense with a little thought

go for walk, with camera.

hope it rains next couple days, or I may turn to drink

transition said:

why are these compact homes towed, I ask, rather tan self-propelled

comic imagery of goodies driving around in a house

asks lady….what was that episode about

Big enough for you?

https://youtu.be/jk5Rkfd1FqE

transition said:

why are these compact homes towed, I ask, rather tan self-propelled

because they are trailers.

I grew up in leafy Kuringai on a larger than quarter acre block with a park across the road and Lane Cover National park behind.
There were a lot of architect designed homes and my father, the works supervisor, talked about it all the time. And for a long while I wanted to be an architect. And I still think about building houses all the time.

Back then there were less than 13 million in Australia.

I realise some people are happy to live in a tiny house and some people need a yard. As someone who desires space and a home…I am lucky. I don’t really need 32 acres backing on to a wilderness but I am glad I have them and I not generic homeless older woman.

Today’s news.

Zero.

That’s the number of rental properties that were affordable for a young person on Youth Allowance in any capital city or regional centre over one weekend in March.

That was out of 69,000 listed rentals that were analysed by Anglicare Australia for its annual Rental Affordability Snapshot.
In any capital city or regional centre:

317 rentals were affordable for a single person on the Disability Support Pension 75 rentals were affordable for a single parent with one child on Newstart 2 rentals were affordable for a single person in a property or share house on Newstart 1 rental was affordable for a single person in a property or share house on Youth Allowance 0 rentals were affordable for a single person on Newstart or Youth Allowance

The report, released today, found just three rental properties or share houses in the entire country were considered affordable for someone on Newstart or Youth Allowance.

Anglicare Australia Executive Director Kasy Chambers told Hack they’ve been doing this report for a decade and it’s getting harder to find affordable homes to rent.

“It’s worse than it was last year, it’s worse than it was three years ago,” she said.

“It’s really a very difficult situation for young people who are trying to get a start in the housing market.”

Almost 800,000 people in Australia are on Newstart or Youth Allowance, and Kasy says they are forced to make tough decisions and sacrifices to pay their rent.

“You can change what food you eat, you can hold back on eating at some mealtimes, people make decisions about whether to insure their car, whether to fill prescriptions for medicine, but the rent is something you can’t not pay,” she said.

It’s not just people on welfare payments who are affected by rising rents – just two per cent of the homes in the survey were considered affordable for a single person with a full-time minimum wage job.

For people on low incomes, any rentals that are more than 30 per cent of their income are considered unaffordable.

“It’s an internationally accepted benchmark.”
‘Housing in Australia is broken’

Anglicare Australia is calling on all parties to invest in affordable homes as part of this election campaign.

“There is a huge shortage of secure, affordable rentals. That’s causing record levels of rental stress and even homelessness,” Kasy said.

According to Anglicare Australia, we need 300,000 new social properties across Australia to address the rental crisis.

“We really want to see parties commit to investing in new social and community housing,” she said.

“Housing that’s built for people on low incomes, many are single income houses so they can’t afford a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house and don’t need one.”

https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/zero-affordable-homes-anglicare-australia-report/11049666

————

For the last few days I have been thinking about a large residential block that I am calling ‘the studios and garrets.’ Large single room. Ensuite bathroom. Kitchenette. Large windows. Some Juliet balconies. Communal coin op laundry. Communal workshop. Centre city. No parking. Some turrets. Steam punk vibe architecture. Weird solar panel shapes.

My imaginings place this building on vacant space in an art precinct adjacent to the art school. Built to house young single arty types and business people(short stroll to CBD) and grandmothers who were into ceramics. Some for sale. Some for the housing department. Some for long term rentalsinvestments.

Truth is that if got off the ground it would be snapped up as uni accommodation. One of the reasons Hobart is short of hotel beds is that UTas has been buying hotels through the city and converting them to student accommodation. AirBnB is booming because there isn’t enough hotel rooms. And NIMBYS like me don’t approve of all the multi storey shard buildings that the Singaporeans keep telling Hobart it needs. Hobart is still booming. Prices are still moving substantially upwards. Rentals have trebled in some Hobart suburbs.

And…who wants to homeless in Hobart?

Which brings me to some plan to support the homeless in cities to move to somewhere affordable if they are willing to do so.

PS Little houses.

Arthur’s Circus Hobart,

Lovely little Georgian cottages surrounding a little park.

Groups of tiny homes around a/ a fenced dog park or b/a communal vegi garden could create some amenity.

sarahs mum said:

According to Anglicare Australia, we need 300,000 new social properties across Australia to address the rental crisis.

“We really want to see parties commit to investing in new social and community housing,” she said.

Labor have the following policy if they win government:

“This policy will help support housing construction, complementing our 10‐year plan to support the construction of 250,000 new affordable homes. We’ll also encourage more Build to Rent housing construction so more renters can access stable long-term tenancies and more housing in desired locations close to public transport and close to employment opportunities.”

https://www.alp.org.au/negativegearing

Michael V said:

Suburbs for compact homes = caravan parks.

More to it that.

Hong Kong also qualifies as suburbs for compact homes.

So do pubs.

Ditto slums, eg in India.

Caravan parks tend to have open space around, like nature. But really bad for both flooding and cyclones. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trailer_park

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