Perth’s love affair with bricks may be waning as more people build houses from prefabricated panels. .

In Claremont, architect Ben Caine from Leanhaus is building a prefabricated house on a 180sq.m site for a young professional client. “For the same price as an apartment at nearby Claremont Oval, my client will get her own house built with a cutting-edge design and high quality materials,” Ben said. “It’s a smart move.” Last week, it took just three days for the house to go up, from slab to roof. “The insulation, membranes and barriers are all in place ready for taping up to make the home airtight and watertight,” Ben said.

Taking around 6 months to complete overall, a prefabricated house takes about half the time of a traditional build, and he is often asked: will it be cheaper? “Architect designed homes typically start at $3000 a square metre to build and our homes come in well under that,” Ben said. Furthermore, the Claremont house will be built to Passive House standards.

Thermal comfort is the ultimate aim with stable internal temperatures, and fresh, filtered air is supplied continuously for the well being of the occupants. “Healthy and comfortable to live in, with huge savings on heating and cooling I don’t know why anyone would be happy to live in anything less.” ” To follow the progress of the house, go to Ben’s instagram account @the_lean_architect or visit leanhaus.com.au.

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