4
ST GEORGE & SUTHERLAND SHIRE LEADER
REAL ESTATE
Wednesday April 12, 2017
theleader.com.au
domain.com.au
Sekisui House sets top standards
MADELAINE WONG
A
JAPANESE residential
development company
Sekisui House, is
expected to transform
residential housing standards by bringing innovative
SHAWOOD housing
to Australia.
“SHAWOOD is resetting
the standard for home
building in Australia by
combining the very best in
Japanese organic design
principles and pre-engineered technology to
deliver innovative building
solutions to the market,”
Craig Barnes, estate sales
and customer relations
manager at Sekisui
House said.
Their latest development features eighteen
double-storey SHAWOOD
homes, forming The
Hermitage, to be located in
Sydney’s Gledswood Hills.
According to Makoto
Ochiai, product development and manufacturing
manager, one aspect that
differentiates SHAWOOD
home designs to Australian
homes is the way they are
built.
“The material we use is
sustainably sourced timber
that is pre-engineered and
laminated, which means
little waste and ensures accuracy in construction. The
material is eco-friendly and
BRISBANE’S
GREEN SPACE
SHORTAGE
WENDY HUGHES
Japanese design philosophy connects the home with surrounding nature through access to private open space and adjacent landscapes.
There is also emphasised focus on craftsmanship, quality, longevity, simplistic design, minimalism and distinct purpose.
the amount of energy we
use to build is significantly
lower than the conventional
way of building.
“The structural frame of
the house is very different
to most Australian homes.
The whole structure is
built offsite and gets
pre-assembled and then
it goes onsite - it is then
basically puzzled there,” Mr
Ochiai said.
The compact living
conditions in Japan have
brought an understanding
of better spatial design.
SHAWOOD has translated these designs to enhance the larger Australian
housing model, providing
ample storage.
“About 20 per cent of
the Japanese home was
designed for storage, and
we have adopted that
efficiency in this project,”
Mr Ochiai said.
The Japanese architects
also incorporated passive design.
“We tend to focus on
passive design by maximising the flow of the wind.
For example, we design a
room with at least two windows to ensure sufficient
air flow, which means there
is less need for airconditioning,” Mr Ochiai said.
Other technology featured in SHAWOOD homes
includes Nano-Hydrophilic
coating, which means rain
is enough to remove build
up of dirt and pollution. But
it is also fire resistant up to
840 degrees, ideal for the
harsh Australian climate.
“This coating is standard technology in Japan.
Tokyo is a very dense city
so everything we put on
the outside has to be fire
resistant so other houses
don't catch fire,” Mr
Ochiai said.
Japanese design philosophy connects the home
with surrounding nature
through access to open
space. There is also a focus
on longevity, minimalism
and simplistic design.
BRISBANE must
consider how to adopt
a greener infrastructure
in the city or risk being
pushed down the
liveability scale among
Australian cities.
This is according to
Brisbane landscape
architect Steve Dunn,
who fears future residents and tourists will be
drawn to the Gold and
Sunshine Coasts if greater areas of green space
are not incorporated.
“When you study the
population densities and
distribution of green
space, the process of
urbanisation and what
residents really want,
alarm bells start to go
off,” Mr Dunn said.
While more developers are realising the
merits of a rooftop
garden or a green wall,
he said there was a
need for larger areas in
the city, including open
space for people to run,
play or walk the dog.
Australian home owners hit rock bottom in the world
JENNIFER DUKE
A
N HSBC report revealed that
Australia is ranked among
the world’s worst for young
home buyers, falling far below
average for home ownership.
After 9000 millennials were
surveyed across nine countries,
Australia was found to be at the
bottom of the list.
Only 28 per cent of young
Aussies owned a home, compared to a global average of 40
per cent.
This was nearly the worst
international result, but only 26
per cent of millennials in the
United Arab Emirates, were
home owners.
The country with the most
first-home buyers was China,
where 70 per cent of those
surveyed owned a home.
Of those who did own real
estate in Australia, a third had
received help from their parents
and 25 per cent had moved back
home to save.
But despite the difficulties to
get on the property ladder, 83 per
cent had intentions to buy within
the next five years.
“The dream certainly isn’t
dead. This research demonstrates
that a lack of preparation and
understanding of the realities
of owning real estate however
can stall or even deflate those
dreams,” HSBC Australia head
of mortgages, Alice Del Vecchio said.
“The deposit for a home loan is
the biggest initial cost of owning
a home, but buyers also need to
factor in the costs of stamp duty,
legal fees, mortgage insurance,
building inspection fees and in
some cases renovation costs,”
she said.