b'living trendsResene Blackjack teeny, tiny& terrificAs house prices rise and stocks are in demand,the small home movement is gaining momentum. H ousing reports lately have been gloomyforThough household sizes have been decreasing, our buyers at least. House prices have risen 24%homeshavebeengettingsteadilybiggersincethe since 2008 as purchasers compete for a near- 1950s. Then, the average new home was 117 sq m; in stagnant supply. Population growth in Auckland and2010 it was 205 sq mshock horror thats actually earthquakes knocking out 10,000-20,000 dwellings inbigger than the average new home in super-size-me Christchurch mean these cities face the highest priceAmerica the same year. increases(up40%and33%respectively)andtheThistrendneedstogointheotherdirection, widest supply and demand gaps. particularlyinAuckland,saysOpusArchitecture Its estimated that Auckland needs 10,000-13,000national manager Mark Burke-Damaschke. A growing new homes a year to keep pace with growth, but justpopulation and rising land costs mean well need to half that number are being built. With median prices infind innovative uses for smaller siteslike infill or the $600,000s, theyre out of reach for many. repurposed brownfield sitesas well as looking to And cutting corners in the past has meant that lotsflexible and smaller design solutions. ofhomesareunhealthy,energy-inefficientandInternational research shows smaller houses also expensive to maintain.tendtobemoreenergy-efficientandcheaperto Allthismaybeachallenge,butitsalsoanmaintain. opportunity to think differently about where and howTypical of the downsized direction are the Smarter we live. Houses in the future need to be smaller, moreSmall Homestwo-storey, four-bedroom homes with efficient, and less likely to fall down. Many will bea 65 sq m footprint and a $300,000-$350,000 price kitset, assembled onsite, saving time and money. tag,designedbyAucklandarchitecturaldesign And with good design, small, cheap and strongcompany Creative Arch (www.creativearch.co.nz). doesnt necessarily need to mean boring. Managing director Mark McLeay wanted affordable, environmentally-friendlyhousingwitharchitectural Trend one: prefabs and pods merit, and his designs are being used in developments Fromcontainerhomestomodulardesign,pre- in Christchurch, Auckland and Napier. fabricationiscuttingbuildtimesandcosts.AnditMeanwhile,architecturaldesigncompanyBox doesnt have to look ugly. Living(www.boxliving.co.nz)isusingmodernist We say prefab, you say horrible memories of highinfluencesandmodularstructuretodesignsmaller school. Which is why those in the industry these dayshouses.prefer terms like offsite manufacture or modular.Founder Dan Heyworth says often big is used as A report published last year suggests prefab housesan alternative to good in house design. You dont cost on average $47,000 less to build than their built- have to design big to get a feeling of space. We take on-site equivalent, and can cut as much as 50% offideas from the pared-back style of the Japanese, for constructiontime.Theyalsoproducelesswasteexample. Its about getting rid of wasted space.(because the houses are designed using standard sizesThe company recently built a three-bedroom, two-for building materials) and result in a higher qualitybathroom house with a study on a 130sqm footprint. product.It is now working on a six-home mews development in Upendingprefabstereotypesaltogetherarethethe centre of Nelson. increasingly hip homes made from shipping containers.He says many newer immigrants from Europe or Think Lego construction in endless variations.Asia are used to living in apartments, semi-detached or terrace-style houses and so often arent looking for a Trend two: smart and small traditional Kiwi house-with-garden approach. Or, why compact doesnt always have to mean titchy, cramped and dark. wordsIdealog/Lynda Brendish50'