When I was going through architecture school, concrete was taught as one of the worst materials environmentally, the embodied energy villain of the construction industry. The numbers backed it up then and still do. Cement manufacture is responsible for roughly 8 per cent of global CO2 emissions, and if the cement industry were a country it would be the third or fourth largest emitter on earth [1].

Melbourne startup Elsewhere Pods went from 10 enquiries a day to over 500 daily calls after launching its national partnership with Bunnings in late 2025 [1]. Two models are sold through Bunnings: a 2.7 x 2.4 metre studio at $26,100 and a 4 x 2.4 metre version at $42,900. Both are flat pack aluminium-framed kits designed for assembly in roughly 48 hours [1][2].

That demand signal deserves respect. Five hundred calls a day reflects genuine housing pressure from first home buyers, downsizers, regional landowners and investors. But the product these buyers are responding to is not what many of them think it is.