Jamie Durie tackles housing crisis in Future House
Billie Schwab Dunn |
As Australia grapples with a housing crisis, Jamie Durie is returning to television with a fresh blueprint for how the country’s homes can be built.
The premiere episode of the first season of Jamie Durie’s Future House led its timeslot with 570,000 national total television viewers, and the award-winning designer is back for a second season.
After demonstrating that homes could be built in weeks rather than months, Durie hopes the show will continue to offer solutions to Australia’s housing shortage.
“We are in the biggest housing crisis we’ve ever had,” Durie said previously.
That sense of urgency is also driving the new season, which explores daring structural relocations to stunning new design solutions.
The series follows everyday Aussies navigating the challenges of finding or rebuilding a home against a backdrop of natural disasters, restrictive regulations and a rapidly changing climate.
“Australia is the home of red tape,” Durie said.
“We need to throw out the rule book and design houses for Australian conditions.”
Among the stories featured this season are Lismore artists Eden and Holly, who race against logistical challenges to relocate a $40,000 flood-damaged heritage home to higher ground.
Near Brisbane, Sean and Jess risk their savings on an ambitious shipping container home without loan approval.
Elsewhere, storm survivors Gary and Lynne embrace resilient modular housing as they rebuild after losing everything.
And single mother, Yindi partners with non-profit organisation Global Sisters to overcome systemic barriers and create greater stability for her family.
Durie also continues with a major building challenge of his own, racing to complete a 3D-printed concrete home for his family on his rural property in Bangalow, near Byron Bay in northern NSW.
The project uses a specialised concrete 3D-printing extruder to construct the home, eliminating the need for traditional formwork in a process designed to save time, reduce construction waste and rethink conventional building methods.
Alongside the home, Durie is developing a self-sustainable infinity garden that is close to his heart.
The second season of Jamie Durie’s Future House premieres on Tuesday, at 8.30pm on Channel Nine and Nine Now.
AAP