Designs well within reach

Press, 27 July 1989, Page 24

Designs well within reach

Finding a way for people to afford welldesigned, attractive homes preoccupied Russell Devlin, a Christchurch architect, for a long time. He believed such homes should be affordable.

His “different approach” examined traditional building materials and the way they were put together.

When he built his own home, putting all his theories to the test, he proved that building costs could be reduced by as much as 30 per cent. No one method reduces costs by itself. Materials, methods and good design were the vital elements, he said.

Last year he captured the public’s imagination through the media when he set out to build his home in one week. Rather than mounting a publicity stunt, he was testing his theories.

Although he did not quite achieve his aim, he proved that building costs could be reduced with fewer on-site labouring hours.

Building his own home has been a turning-point for him, taking him be-

yond the “apprenticeship” stage.

Russell Devlin first became convinced that there had to be ways of reducing building costs while he was at university. He began by learning all he could about conventional building methods.

“You have to learn what is common practice before you can change it,” he said.

He uses innovative techniques for the framework, marrying traditional timber with steel, a commercial technique scaled down. The strength of the steel does the hard work while timber fills in the gaps.

Although steel is a rigid material, it gives design freedom to move walls around. The designer is not constricted by the usual number of loadbearing walls. This flexible technique allows walls to be moved around, perhaps years after the house is finished, to suit the changing lifestyle of the owners. Rooms can be added, made smaller or larger, or the position of internal walls changed.

Good, efficient design gives better value for the

building dollar, Russell Devlin said.

Good management of the contract also reduces costs. This means getting tradesmen to work on a project exactly when required — a turn-around of the “great New Zealand joke" — but the best tradesman is the one who comes when promised and does a good job, he said. Like most other architects, he has worked hard to change the public’s perception that architects only design houses for rich people. Less than 10 per cent of homes in New Zealand are architecturally designed. If building costs are reduced, an architect becomes more affordable, in turn giving better design value.

Russell Devlin stresses that cheap housing is not his aim. “I can give clients better value for their money. They will have a better house than they could have afforded using traditional methods," he said.

Most of the houses he designs are in the $lOO,OOO - $150,000 bracket, a range not usually associated with architectural design.