Granny flats are coming: Here's three ways to build a unique minor dwelling

Saturday, 3 August 2024

Kiwi architect Roger Walker is so chuffed the Government is looking at easing regulations on building so-called granny flats, he’s already started designing for the proposed change.

Known for iconic Kiwi buildings, such as the Park Mews apartments in Wellington, Walker has long railed against building red tape. He reckons too many restrictions stifle creativity, have resulted in a profusion of boring buildings, and projects that take forever to get going.

If we really want to end the housing crisis we need to start thinking outside the box, and taking a skill-saw to the red tape, he says. And ideally, it would be architects leading the charge.

'I think it's a great idea. Architects can influence the environment a bit more than we do now. I mean, we only design 3% of the house starts every year, which is pathetic.

'My inclination is the mass market and it just grates me that we only designed 3% of them.'

His opening salvo is House 60, a versatile, one-off design for a 60m² building that is visually engaging and unique.

Still only an idea on paper, the one-bed dwelling looks like a collection of three interconnected boxes, with various roof heights and options for cladding. Each box contains a specific function - the kitchen, bedroom, living area. The home also has a tall chimney and fireplace.

The idea was inspired by a company he started back in the ‘70s called Vintage Homes, which offered three affordable standard plans. At the time, each build on a new site would have to be drawn by him, by hand, which was unprofitable and time consuming. Today however, architectural software will make this a lot simpler.

Plans for House 60 are in their early stages - the build hasn’t been costed yet - but the hope is people will choose to build a minor dwelling with character, designed by a Kiwi architectural legend.

There’s a similar kaupapa behind the transportable homes built by Katikati firm Homewerk. Inspired by the colours of nature, and pioneering Kiwi architects like Walker and John Scott, Homewerk’s pre-fab cabins are designed to be sustainable, long-lasting buildings that will appreciate in value as they age.

The company is run by life and work partners Oliver Starr and Sammy-Rose Scapens, who started out as renovators, with Starr on the tools and Scapens on the design. About two years ago they pivoted to designing and building their own cabins.

They now have three transportable, pre-fab cabin styles, with options to personalise the look and feel, that all fall within the proposed legislation’s 60m² size limits.

'[Our cabins are] classical, and even though they're jazzy colours, they're not trendy colours,' says Scapens. “It's not going to become devalued because it's now no longer a trend.'

With their asymmetrical roof lines, and clerestory windows, the cabins have a late Mid-century look that feels very reminiscent of the golden age of Kiwi architecture.

'We wanted to build small houses that ticked a whole bunch of boxes, design-wise for us,“ says Starr. ”Small buildings that still offer the full experience of a bigger house. Something that you can actually live in.'

For Starr, that meant tall ceilings, and electric clerestory windows for passive cooling, natural materials and a unique style. It also meant developing a product that was easy to place almost anywhere.

Specifically designed to suit the 'minor dwelling scenario', the cabin’s services are all along the back of the cabin, with living spaces towards the front, so the cabins can be pushed up to a fence line.

Built off-site to keep costs down, once your choices are made, the homes are fixed price. The only variables are the on site costs, and the way the system works at the moment, they can be wildly variable.

'That's one benefit to this new legislation. It simplifies things,' says Starr. 'I had someone come onto site just this morning asking, 'what's the additional cost?' And it's just such a broad approach, because all over the country development contributions, which is what the council charge for infrastructure, vary astronomically by tens of $1000s.'

Moveable home builder HouseMe supports any move by the Goverment that removes the financial burden, and shortens the administrative aspects, of this process. The company is keen to allay fears of what removing building regulations might mean.

'Nothing will change with the general physical process,' says HouseMe spokesman Bryce Glover. 'People still have to have a dwelling that's built to New Zealand building code standards. All of the work done needs to be certified and completed by licensed trades people and any site-related work still needs to be done as if it was done today.'

But by removing the building consent and the resource consent process, lead times will be 'substantially' shortened.

'By default, that should significantly improve housing stock in this country.'

Granny flats is “a buzzword” for minor dwellings on the back of an existing property. But the building could be used for anything.

Not everyone wants to send their parents off to retirement villages, says Glover, and there's the younger generation struggling to get into the housing market. HouseMe also has a unit that is wheelchair accessible, which means you may not have to make costly significant changes to the main house, if you or a family member need to use a wheelchair.

The largest building HouseMe offers is just over 52m² and costs about $145,000, plus a “small fee” for delivery. It can be configured in a variety of ways to suit the needs of the owners.

'Putting something like this on the back of an existing property is going to make life a lot easier for a lot of people,“ Glover says. 'When you remove the financial side associated with consenting, a dwelling of that size immediately becomes a lot more achievable.'