In June twenty people took a sustainable house tour organised by Circular Economy Huon to look at four very different approaches to more affordable housing. After an informative introduction to sustainable housing concepts by Lukas Mrosek, a local house designer, it was off to see the first property.

This was to the Cygnet Micro Village development to see a really well insulated earth-ship inspired house including an indoor area for plants, positioned to make the best use of winter sun. When completed it will be naturally warm with very low running costs. In contrast to this, the second visit was to look at a tiny house being built – smaller house, less heating (and less cleaning!) and much cheaper than a fixed structure. It was being thoughtfully crafted to suit the individual needs of the future owner.

After a warming soup and home cooked cakes for lunch provided by the Cygnet CWA, the tour visited a newly completed apartment development. The units were bigger than the tiny house but still well insulated, double glazed and with small courtyards. The last stop on the tour was to look at how the owner was creatively insulating a traditional Huon Valley weatherboard house using a mix of lime and sawdust. Beautifully warm with some lovely timber finishes.

If you’d like to find out more about both these dwellings, meet others also interested in better housing and to get the views of a sustainability professional and architect there will be a Mini-workshop and Discussion on Tuesday July 9 th at 6.00pm in the Huonville Hub. 

For bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1243043