Lite houses offer beacon of hope amid housing crisis

The Litehouse Duo combines smart design, sustainable materials and passive heating and cooling.

A firm of architects in Mapleton has designed some unique, energy-positive homes they say could help address the region’s housing crisis.

With housing shortages, sustainable development and increasing energy bills being current hot topics, Mapleton architects Habitance unveiled the three energy-positive house designs at the Off Grid Expo at the weekend. 

Called the LiteHouse, the concept combines smart design, Australian-made sustainable materials and passive heating and cooling. They will be built by selected local eco builders to ensure the impact of construction and then living in the house, were both ‘Lite’ on the earth.

Ali, left, and Alex Hoffmann at the Off Grid Expo on Sunday September 4.

‘Energy Positive Architecture’ is the tag line of the 20-month-old business started by husband-and-wife team Alex and Ali Hoffmann during the global pandemic. 

Energy Positive Architecture means buildings must produces more energy than they require and the objective aligns with Sunshine Coast Regional Council’s ‘Housing for the Future’ and ‘Sustainable Design’ Strategies.

“Initially I wanted to offer an energy positive house design, as a sustainable option for people buying in subdivisions such as Aura,” said Alex, an architect with 30 years’ experience.

“As the basic construction of the LiteHouse takes a week, it has less environmental impact on the site and then ongoing energy cost savings for whoever lives there.” 

The feedback during design development was so positive that Alex designed three different sized LiteHouses, to market to environmentally-conscious home buyers. All have energy positive features and the option to be 100 percent off-grid.

The LiteHouse ‘Duo’, designed for one or two people, is particularly suited for secondary dwellings and could be part of the solution to current housing challenges, especially as the design and materials mean they can be built quickly. 

Building several Duos together might be a practical option for retirement and community living, especially in semi-rural areas, the idea of which has been supported by community group members in the Hinterland.

Alex said there was a need to provide a more diverse range of housing to increase access to quality living and is organising a strategic meeting in October with industry leaders.

“We desperately need affordable and sustainable housing now, to retain key and essential workers in the region,” he said. “So zoning and controls need to support sustainable energy-positive secondary dwellings to offer as long-term rentals.”