Answer to re-building

By Casey Neill
A HILLS invention could save residents in Victoria’s fire ravaged regions from future heartache.
Belgrave South’s John Novotny invented Novoram 20 years ago.
The unique wall-construction system uses compacted earth sandwiched between a thin, concrete jacket.
“These houses don’t look any different to conventional houses,” he said.
The materials were fireproof, making them ideal for the rebuild ahead, Mr Novotny said.
“Earth doesn’t burn, it doesn’t rot, it doesn’t rust,” he said.
The system is so easy to use homeowners could rebuild their own homes in just days.
The 84-year-old has called on the State Government to investigate the system in the bushfires Royal Commission.
A State Government spokesman said the Royal Commission’s terms of reference had not yet been determined.
“But they will be looking at everything including building codes, regulations and materials,” he said.
Mr Novotny contacted the Mail prior to Black Saturday to discuss his product as an alternative in the current economic climate.
The first home he built in Cockatoo in 1990 cost less than $30,000 and was constructed in just 10 days.
Homes built using Novoram require little heating or cooling, saving energy and cash, and less energy is required to create the materials than other building products.
“It’s cheaper to build and will save money for a long, long time,” Mr Novotny said.
The Mail first spoke to Mr Novotny about his invention in November 2007.
RMIT University civil engineering senior lecturer Dr Indu Patnaikuni told the Mail the system was simple, cheap and resilient and had boundless potential.
“In the long term, this will be the method of construction,” he said.
A trip to a rural Californian village inspired the system. Mr Novotny found buildings constructed 350 years ago still standing and in use.
Gembrook MP Tammy Lobato praised the building system in parliament in August 2006.
Ms Lobato asked the Environment Minister to investigate the “innovative and environmentally sustainable building method”, and has written several letters to the environment and housing ministers over the past three years.
The Labor MP told parliament Novoram addressed housing affordability issues, as well as reducing environmental impacts.