TED@Westpac
Sarah Murray: A playful solution to the housing crisis
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Frustrated by her lack of self-determination in the housing market, Sarah Murray created a computer game that allows home buyers to design a house and have it delivered to them in modular components that can be assembled on-site. Learn how her effort is putting would-be homeowners in control of the largest purchase of their lives -- as well as cutting costs, protecting the environment and helping provide homes for those in need.
Sarah Murray - Digital housing developer
Sarah Murray is building a future of democratized design and construction. Full bio
Sarah Murray is building a future of democratized design and construction. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
Hi.
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My name's Sarah,
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and I've been priced out
of the housing market.
of the housing market.
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In fact,
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I'm one of the majority of my generation
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who can't afford a home.
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And in 2017, home ownership
amongst young Australians
amongst young Australians
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has fallen to the lowest level
in recorded history.
in recorded history.
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So, foolishly or otherwise,
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I decided to build my own home.
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But the prognosis
wasn't good there, either.
wasn't good there, either.
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Architects cater for the one percent,
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builders are scarce,
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so service is inconsistent
and prices are high.
and prices are high.
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The single biggest investment in my life,
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and I was amazed
how little self-determination,
how little self-determination,
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choice
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and, ultimately, control I had.
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What's more, I was doubly surprised
at how vulnerable this made me feel.
at how vulnerable this made me feel.
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Frankly, I felt trapped.
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So, I reflected on this
for quite some time.
for quite some time.
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And I realized
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what I wanted was democratized
design and construction.
design and construction.
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And that led to me asking
one very simple question:
one very simple question:
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What is building a house?
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What is it?
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Well, it turns out that building a house
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is making a series of decisions,
some with physical consequences,
some with physical consequences,
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within a defined set of parameters.
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Now, having worked in software
applications for some time now,
applications for some time now,
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this all sounded very familiar to me.
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I also couldn't understand
why we build on-site.
why we build on-site.
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No other major assembly in our lives
is constructed like this.
is constructed like this.
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Your car doesn't come to you in pieces
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with an extra 10 percent just in case,
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to be assembled at the mercy
of the elements.
of the elements.
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So why should your house?
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So I built a computer game.
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A game that allows you to design your home
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and have it delivered to you.
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A game that puts the home builder
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back at the center of the largest
purchase in their life,
purchase in their life,
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elevating them from spectator to player.
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A game with full visibility of the costs
and environmental impact
and environmental impact
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of each new attribute you add.
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Using modular components,
players select items from their library
players select items from their library
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and drag them into their world.
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Each item, be it a wall, a solar battery
or even an armchair,
or even an armchair,
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contains all of the information
for the system to calculate costs,
for the system to calculate costs,
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environmental impact
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and even a happiness tally for the player.
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Eighty-three percent of home builders
said that next to cost,
said that next to cost,
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environmentally friendly features
were the most important things to them.
were the most important things to them.
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So out of the gate, homes
are integrated with solar systems.
are integrated with solar systems.
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Born green.
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Sustainable housing is often associated
with wealth and affluence,
with wealth and affluence,
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but that shouldn't be the case.
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In fact, truly sustainable housing
should be available to everyone
should be available to everyone
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and affordable for all.
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So, I had found a way to get
the control back that I was craving
the control back that I was craving
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and give it to others.
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But something was still bugging me,
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something was still
keeping me up at night.
keeping me up at night.
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What about those people
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who have genuinely no control
over where they live?
over where they live?
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Every hour -- in the space
of your intermission --
of your intermission --
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4,000 new homes are needed in the world.
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Wrap your head around that number.
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That's an astonishing 35 million homes
globally, every year.
globally, every year.
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And in Australia alone,
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we have a shortfall of 250,000 dwellings.
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And in addition to that,
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we have 190,000 families
on the assisted-housing wait list;
on the assisted-housing wait list;
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families in need of a home.
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Between now and 2050,
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when the global population
is set to move from today's 7.6 billion
is set to move from today's 7.6 billion
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to tomorrow's 9.8 billion people,
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hundreds of millions of people
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will experience security, health
and safety issues.
and safety issues.
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Imagine if you can
not feeling secure in your home --
not feeling secure in your home --
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not from crime, not from theft,
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but from the fact
that the building you're in --
that the building you're in --
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the building you're in --
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might not be structurally sound
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or built from nontoxic components
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or meet local natural disaster standards.
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It's the 21st century.
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And this just isn't good enough.
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What if -- what if --
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we could restore control and dignity
to those individuals
to those individuals
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by giving them a home,
but not just any home:
but not just any home:
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their home,
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and a home of their design.
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We're currently adapting our game
so that when a player builds a home,
so that when a player builds a home,
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they're contributing to a home
for someone in need.
for someone in need.
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And I know this sounds like a lofty goal,
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and it is ridiculously ambitious,
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but today, our current operating model
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operates at a ten-to-one ratio.
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So for every 10 homes we build,
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we can build a home for someone in need.
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(Applause)
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This is made possible because today,
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with design for manufacture and assembly,
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which uses light gauge
steel frame construction,
steel frame construction,
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shipped and assembled on-site,
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we can decrease construction
costs by 20 percent
costs by 20 percent
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and environmental waste by 15 percent,
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saving time, money
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and keeping tons of waste
out of landfills.
out of landfills.
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The power in modular construction
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is that you can build year-round
with confidence in your costs,
with confidence in your costs,
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in your quality,
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and in your delivery date,
in your build date.
in your build date.
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Now, wouldn't that be crazy?
Wouldn't that be great?
Wouldn't that be great?
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But --
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that doesn't get me to my goal.
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My goal is one-for-one.
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So I've been traveling the world,
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looking at different alternatives
of construction 3-D printing,
of construction 3-D printing,
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trying to find technology
that will help me deliver on my ambition.
that will help me deliver on my ambition.
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3-D printing is so exciting
and so promising,
and so promising,
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offering a 40 percent reduction in cost
and near zero waste.
and near zero waste.
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And this is just to name a few,
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but some of the really exciting
innovations happening all over the world
innovations happening all over the world
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are happening in Italy, France,
Dubai and Australia.
Dubai and Australia.
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And they use robotic arms
to print everything from solid stone
to print everything from solid stone
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to concrete, to wax.
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In Italy, they have developed
a technique using sorel cement.
a technique using sorel cement.
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Sorel cement was originally
invented in 1867,
invented in 1867,
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and it's the beautiful chemical marriage
of magnesium oxide and local sand,
of magnesium oxide and local sand,
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which they can now use
to print solid stone walls.
to print solid stone walls.
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And in France,
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they have a regulator-approved
although still experimental process
although still experimental process
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where they print two parallel
tracks of foam insulation
tracks of foam insulation
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and pour concrete in the middle
to create solid stone.
to create solid stone.
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And in Dubai, sitting at the foot
of those two glorious Emirates Towers,
of those two glorious Emirates Towers,
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is a vision of the future
in the middle of the desert.
in the middle of the desert.
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They've got their experimental
office of the future,
office of the future,
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which is constructed
using 3-D printed concrete
using 3-D printed concrete
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which was printed in China
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and shipped and assembled
on location in Dubai.
on location in Dubai.
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And not to be outdone,
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in Australia, we've pioneered
an amazing technology
an amazing technology
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that allows you to print wax molds
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and pour concrete over the top of them,
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allowing you to create really intricately
beautiful and cost-effective facades
beautiful and cost-effective facades
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that you can see in person
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the next time you travel
the London Underground.
the London Underground.
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But all of these things are tools --
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hammer of tomorrow, if you like.
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And the one common thread
that connects all these things
that connects all these things
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is computer-aided design.
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We will need models
to build using these techniques,
to build using these techniques,
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models like the ones being developed
by players in our game.
by players in our game.
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I want to put every person that wants one
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in a home of their own design.
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And there are many
more applications still.
more applications still.
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We could usher in an entirely new
empowered experience
empowered experience
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of special needs
or aged-care accommodation.
or aged-care accommodation.
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And we could provide rapid,
on-site assistance
on-site assistance
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in emergency housing situations.
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In the words of one of my players,
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"I want to take matters into my own hands
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and live by example."
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sarah Murray - Digital housing developerSarah Murray is building a future of democratized design and construction.
Why you should listen
Sarah Murray dreams of a future where sustainable housing is available for everyone and affordable for all. She's building this future, with PLACE Technologies, a digital manufacturing social enterprise powered by the PLACE game, a computer game that allows players to design their own homes and have them delivered to them. For every ten homes PLACE builds, they will house someone in need.
As an entrepreneur in residence with 15 years experience and a graduate of the prestigious Stanford LEAD program, Murray passionately applies this powerful cocktail of skills and experience to the challenges of some of the world's largest organizations and society's most intractable issues.
Sarah Murray | Speaker | TED.com