Ex-rental House: Site Reconfigured

Queensland, 2004

New owners of a run-down ex-rental property were intent on improving the house and making a profit within two years.  The house faced onto a picturesque canal in Broadbeach Waters with direct sand beach access, and had great potential for adding value.  The clients were interested in a co-creation approach to the project, being participants in both design and construct aspects of the work.

Total reconfiguration of the house required our involvement in a much broader scope of work than a standard house renovation design brief.  Both qualitative and quantitative research included a multi-layered assessment of current client wants, needs, preferences, experience, skills and competence, and future user expectations.  The anthro-design input acknowledged market perceptions and economic parameters; however, the project was also about creating a meaningful experience for those involved in the renovation – the clients, their friends and the tradesmen they would work with. 

The twenty-four month period of active client engagement was deeply transformative.  The house-as-building site became a generative educational space where clients developed practical skills through apprenticeship, spot mentoring and trial-and-error methods, while also participating in ideation and improvisation sessions.  The task was completed within established economic, physical and aesthetic boundaries, while enabling the clients to extend their ‘change-making’ toolkit.