A private message from MDS directors Felicity and Marc
With the finishing line of our house-building journey finally in sight, we just wanted to say a huge heartfelt Thank You. It’s been a long and a tough journey - you will be able to see some of it on TV soon, as our episode airs on Grand Designs Australia on 19/05/2021 - and we are very very happy to have made it - while a little bit scarred but overall unharmed - to the other side :-)
This wouldn’t have been possible without all the love and support we’ve experienced, even before but particularly after the fire. We are so so thankful to everyone who has been so supportive over these past couple of years, and even more so after the fire that we had on site ! Without any of you, we couldn’t have done what we’ve done, and made our vision a reality. I still can’t believe we are almost there - at the high level of detail and experimentation that we set out to achieve. It’s amazing, it’s wondrous, it’s such a great finish to such an arduous journey.
So thank you for your support and your love that we experienced in so many different ways , e.g.
support from friends, fans and strangers who have been there for us with their time, their thoughts, their food and prayers, and helped us get through it all while keeping (kind of) our sanity
financial supporters through crowdfunding and donations to the cause - that was just amazing and we never expected anything like it ! The money was certainly very very helpful to help us get back up on our feet and not give up after the fire. But even more than that, it was also the feeling to have so many people thinking of us that helped us immensely at that point.
our clients who have been very very understanding that priorities had to be shifted around sometimes to get to this outcome (and we apologise sincerely for any delays that may have occurred from these events !)
suppliers and trades who jumped in and helped out at short notice
a massive amount of industry partners who came on board this project early on, to help make our vision a reality
neighbours who have been patiently waiting for the muddy building site to disappear and who have been supporting us in many different ways
and so many many, countless more…
You all helped us tremendously to get to this point and like I said, we couldn’t have done without any of you! Thank you so much !!!
This house to us was always going to be more than just a family home, it’s our vision that we wanted to bring to life, to inspire others, and to help instigate change in the building industry. It’s a ShowCase home, that will be open for tours, workshops and seminars regularly so that it can help with that vision. We wanted to show people that there are multiple and better ways of constructing a home in Australia, that quality and lifestyle don’t need to be disengaged from sustainability but rather that everything can go hand in hand and create beautiful outcomes for a better world. We wanted to show that a passive house can be contemporary and luxurious and playful, and good for the environment, all at the same time.
We planned for this home to be a family home that sets an example. An example of better ways to build a house, of passive house construction, of sustainable building materials and technologies like CLT and wood fibre insulation. A home that is warm and inviting, yet luxurious and contemporary, but above all, a home that allows for a sustainable future. With our new venture “Hutt”, we want to roll out a series of similar houses that will change the market and the industry - we like to call it the ‘Tesla of Housing’.
We hope near net-zero homes like this will become the norm in our beautiful country here one day, and we sincerely hope that our house will help inspire others to follow that path. Once again, thank you sincerely, and we can’t wait to see you at the house to show you around !