Working Towards Low Cost Housing in Aotearoa

The story of Low Cost Housing Aotearoa began when Zane Sabour, having come back from volunteering as an architect overseas, wanted to make a meaningful contribution in his field of expertise. The problem was obvious, with housing in almost all cities and towns in Aotearoa being classified as unaffordable or severely unaffordable by international standards.

The imperative was born of trying to understand why housing was so expensive and how individuals and institutions could obtain cheaper housing. And so the journey begun…

Due to the complexity of the housing problem and lack of readily available information, it became clear that as an ordinary citizen, it was very difficult to comprehend why housing was so expensive and whether anything could be done to obtain housing at a more affordable cost.

Contributing to demystifying the topic and building understanding around low cost housing seemed to be a worthy endeavour as without this understanding there is little that can be done at a grass roots level to elevate ourselves out of this crisis we currently find ourselves in.

…and so the project Low Cost Housing Aotearoa was born.

The website aims to contribute to the discourse on low cost housing by first focusing on practical examples of how others have created low cost housing. In addition to this a number of resources, currently in the shape of articles that grow understanding are being developed.

The website is intended to be an evolving resource that grows through the help of volunteers, so if you would be like to help out then please let us know on the collaborate page.