Mercedes Magazine Feature: Nevhouse – An Affordable Housing Revolution

16th February 2016, M B G C

Nev Hyman, whose companies Nev Future Shapes and Firewire Surfboards literally changed the way surfboards are made worldwide – is back in the news at the head of a bold new enterprise Nev House.

The company recycles plastic waste to create durable, affordable flatpack housing, ideal for developing nations or disaster relief (they’re erected or dismantled in five days).

To Australian sensibilities, the Nev House looks like a groovy beach cabin, but to the poor of the developing world, the innovative structures represent dignity, hygiene and protection from the elements. They’re modular too – meaning everything from homes to community halls can be assembled from the same components.

And the ball is well and truly rolling, with the first Nev Houses built in Vanuatu and advanced negotiations underway with other key territories. “Diverting waste from landfill, off the streets and out of rivers and turning it into houses for the poor is a very compelling story that’s captured imaginations”, says Hyman.

Nev House is a remarkable second act in a career that spans surfing’s growth from cultish pastime to a multi-billion dollar global concern. Hyman, one of history’s most influential surfboard shapers, doggedly championed computer-aided design and manufacture of surfboards until an entire industry fell in line behind him. How he’s turned that singular vision towards recycling and housing innovation.

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