In what was described as a regrettable turn of events, Blueskin Energy Limited’s first-of-its-kind climate-safe house will go to auction this week, Blueskin Energy Ltd general manager Scott Willis said.
The wooden, relocatable 60sqm eco-friendly home was lifted into position in Waitati in November last year after it was partly built in public at Forsyth Barr Stadium, in Dunedin.
Mr Willis did not accept that the project had been a failure.
"I would hope it gets a good price," Mr Willis said.
"Virtually all of the people who have been involved have been so supportive even though this is not what we wanted to happen."
Any profits from the sale would be ring-fenced for energy hardship alleviation, he said.
The company estimated the cost of building the house to be $320,000, including the one-off cost to partially build it in public, and the in kind donations from area businesses and organisations.
It was dubbed the country’s first climate-safe house and was used to house a person affected by flooding.
But it had been on land that was leased to Blueskin Energy Ltd at a peppercorn rate.
And while it was always planned to move it, the company had hoped it would be there for five to 10 years, rather than just one year.
The person for whom the house was built had asked that it be removed from the property and had given Blueskin Energy Limited a timeframe for its removal, Mr Willis said.
He declined to name the person to protect their privacy.
Blueskin Energy did not have the resources to move the house, or to buy another property to put the house on, and it had no other option.
Mr Willis did not accept that the sale of the house so soon after it was built was a sign the project was a failure.
Blueskin Energy Limited planned more climate-safe houses, he said.
"We set out to design and build a new type of housing that was affordable, transportable, modular, energy efficient — an eco-home — and we demonstrated that that can be done," Mr Willis said. "And unfortunately we are not as cashed up as a big charity, so we can’t just give it away to another needy person.
"We can’t just buy another property and put another vulnerable person in it, although we’ve had a lot of conversations to try and do just that."
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As much as I congratulate the effort, the cost of this build is clearly a barrier for many people. $5333.33 per square meter is remarkably expensive. 60 square meters, while being ideal for a single or couple, and would no doubt have a small ongoing maintainance cost, is still, for most families, rather small and rather expensive. Put this on a recently auctioned section in Mosgiel for another $350,000 plus and we're now in the region of nearly three quarters of a $million........even less 'affordable'.
QUOTE: "We set out to design and build a new type of housing that was affordable, transportable, modular, energy efficient — an eco-home — and we demonstrated that that can be done," Mr Willis said.
The building costs are the challenge here. Materials/Labour, what where the cost ratios? Allowing something approaching $5500 per square meter to be the 'norm', does nothing for affordability, more for 'experimental'. In fact, it feeds the crisis and gives permission for rising prices. Back to the drawing board, and why why why, is it so expensive for building materials in NZ? Someone in supply is surely profoundly profiting. It wasn't always like this, what has changed?