From small country communities to big thinking …
Early Days for Rowan Blizzard
The proud eldest son of a farmer, my formative years were spent on properties in small rural communities, in Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia. Life was simple growing up. Money was scarce but experiences and adventures abound. For three brothers, rural and coastal properties served as idyllic playgrounds, and farm life sparked both practicality and curiosity in my personality. It was in these locations, that I developed a love of nature, came to understand the importance of community, and learned practical and problem solving skills.
Lots of questions about the way things are
From an early age I was encouraged to question the status quo, to seek education and expertise, and to look for better ways to do things. “Better” included “kinder and gentler”- to impacted wildlife, and the environment, and this, no doubt, planted the seed for my drive towards more sustainable construction solutions in housing and landscaping. Similarly, the impact of my early experience of my father leaving home to assist other communities to recover and rebuild after devastating bush fires, was profound. I’m proud to say that I have followed in his footsteps and am service oriented.
Moving to the tropics
I moved to North Queensland in the early 1990s and for almost three decades worked for construction products manufacturers and suppliers across the region. I saw the good, the bad and the ugly about the housing and construction industries, and the systems that supported them. It became obvious to me that houses were generally not designed and built to fit the humans who would occupy them. Rather homes designed and built to suit the industry, who then proceeded to convince people to purchase those “products”. Customers who expressed a desire for products outside of the “cookie cutter” range were often talked out of their ideas. Usually convinced that those ideas were not deliverable without exorbitant overspending. The truth of these overstated costs was mostly untrue.
Rowan Blizzard on Cyclones and other natural disasters
Whilst in North Queensland, I was highly involved in the community first responses to Cyclones Larry and Yasi. The eye of Tropical Cyclone Larry made landfall near Innisfail on the morning of 20 March 2006 and winds remained at cyclone force as they crossed the Atherton Tablelands. Extensive damage to infrastructure and crops between Babinda and Tully resulted in a damage bill in the order of $1.1Billion. In excess of 10 000 homes were damaged.
Then Cyclone Yasi
The damage bill from Cyclone Yasi, which crossed the Queensland coastline near Mission Beach on 3 February 2011, surpassed that of Cyclone Larry. This cyclone Yasi maintained cyclonic intensity farther inland than normal, finally dissipating into a tropical low near Mount Isa 22 hours after the storm first crossed the coast. Whilst the physical infrastructure damage was less than expected due to Yasi largely missing major cities, 30% of homes in Tully were destroyed. More significant damage was done to agriculture with severe damage to banana and sugar cane crops in the region. The total damage bill from Tropical Cyclone Yasi was estimated at $3.5Billion.
Flooding as well not to mention Bushfires
In 2019 we were highly involved in the response to Townsville’s major flooding event. Followed in SEQ but more Brisbane floods. Still the we insist on rebuilding in the same locations with pretty much exactly the same materials…. weird…
The need for industry to change
It was during the responses to those disasters that my desire to change the way we “do” housing was further fuelled. I repeatedly saw the insurance and construction industries replicating and promoting “fixes” that had already proved inadequate. Sometimes more than once. As a community we largely rebuilt the same house, in the same place, out of the same materials. We didn’t stop to consider whether or not the house was functional for the humans who occupied it. Not for the current moment nor for their changing future needs.
Disillusioned, and convinced there was a better way, I started to seek out like minded professionals; people who weren’t scared to challenge existing systems and methodologies. My goal was to demonstrate that better housing outcomes were both achievable and affordable.
Partnership for leadership and change
In around 2008 I was fortunate to be introduced to Darren Finlay and his forward thinking. Our business journey together began. Joining Darren to work on the Innovation House projects, and later, our renovation projects business; Renovation Insider. This has further advanced my thinking about the importance of finding housing solutions that enable humans to thrive. Whether they are renovations for existing infrastructure or new builds, housing solutions should be people focussed. They should be the result of comprehensive exploration. A comprehensive exploration about the current and future needs and desires of the people who will occupy them. When we do this, we can craft solutions that meet the needs of people. Imagining solutions for those with particular health conditions, growing young families, families with children transitioning to teenagers and adult children, as well as multigenerational living which enables elders to remain connected are cared for within the family home.
Focus on these human needs
More recently, we developed People, Purpose, Place; a not for profit entity that facilitates people who are currently excluded from, or not adequately catered for by, the housing market, to form a household which promotes optimal individual and communal outcomes. The framework which underpins the People, Purpose, Place approach further challenges the housing system. Currently this system replicates sameness when it comes to housing. Sameness means that some are left out, and that others live in inadequate options.
A great community not just an adequate option
The People Purpose Place solution is a gamechanger for those traditionally left out of the housing market. We believe that it is also potential solution for demographics finding themselves among the fastest growing groups to experience homelessness. As Rowan Blizzard points out 2016 Census data identified
“Australians known to be at particular risk of homelessness include those who
have experienced family and domestic violence, young people, children on care
and protection orders, Indigenous Australians, people leaving health or social
care arrangements, and Australians aged 55 or older”.
Immediate Needs
Specific segments of our community are being very poorly served by current housing. This include our elderly and our essential workers in particular. Without some genuine leadership and informed imagination this can only continue to exacerbate this escalating housing challenge.
We believe People, Purpose, Place can make a difference. We feel compelled to try, and we invite you to join us on this journey in the service of others…
Come and join in with us. Rowan Blizzard, Darren Finlay, Christine Doan, Russell Lowry and our passionate team to make the change that we are all seeking.
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