Environmentality, 16 April 2014, Craig Byatt, aCure Holistic Environments + Architecture

No it wasn't anything like Grand Designs and where the client was going to find that extra half a million to finish the project!  It was much more grounded.  Hopefully Craig was able to put to bed some of the myths that architects are just adding to your building budget!

It was fantastic to have Craig Byatt, aCure Holistics Environments + Architecture in the Environmentality studio.  There were no pipe dream concepts in the mix just good old fashioned sensible design, small scale builds with an element of DIY and of course a lot of sustainable, community minded, environmentally friendly conversations.

For many Australians owning your own home on a 1/4 acre block is a fantasy.  And that is where Craig was coming from.  We need to reassess the way we live and the community we want to live in.

What if we did buy a house with friends or another family?  If you wanted to be within 10km of the CBD, it would definitely be more affordable.  If you had the right architect on the job, it could be redesigned to suit such a scenario.  Imagine if you were able to cycle or walk everywhere and were close to public transport? It sounds perfect, too perfect?

It's not to say these ideas can't work of course they do, Murundaka Cohousing Community in Heidelberg is a good example of community living.  It's not for everyone though. We like our space and we like to have space between our neighbours and us.

There are so many options to build a stronger, more sustainable community to live in.  It might even start with having a conversation with a neighbour, or introducing yourself in some cases.  Sharing the lawn mower or swapping recipes.

When we start to look outside the square it is amazing what we can come up with.  I wonder what happens to all those thousands of unused shipping containers around the world.......

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Music played on the show today:

The Transantlantics, A Man Like That
Jane Denham, Addicted to the Diesel
The Smiths, Panic
Van Morrison, Gloria