A construction site with two houses elevated several stories off the ground has baffled Australians.
Houses in Bardon, a Brisbane suburb, were placed on stilts to make way for the construction of a new nursery below.
Locals have described the houses as “super Queenslander” due to the enormous height to which they have been raised.
While it would allow flood waters to pass well below the feet of the homes, construction plans reveal that they will be lowered and incorporated into the center.
Harmony Early Education, which will run the centre, has taken the same approach of raising and adding housing to other facilities in Queensland.
The company purchased the properties for a total of $2.2 million in June 2020 before merging them to build the center.
Construction began in March after redevelopment plans were given the green light earlier this year and is expected to be completed in February next year.
Development plans reveal the center will have three separate outdoor play areas and six activity rooms over two floors, plus a car park underneath.
A construction project in Brisbane has been dubbed the ‘super Queenslander’ after it required two houses to be elevated to make way for construction (pictured)
An image of the strange-looking construction site shared on Reddit by a perplexed local has since gone viral.
Many Australians nicknamed the site “Daddy Long Legs” or “Home of Inspector Gadget.”
“I would love to see an updated post in two years when everything is finished and fixed… This is mind-blowing,” one wrote.
A second recalled how a relative raised his house one story and “was the only one on the street that didn’t sink” when the floodwaters overwhelmed him.
“Unfortunately, mold and moisture still did their job,” they added.
A third wrote: “I honestly think more houses should be on stilts in general.”
‘Having a modern, renovated Queenslander would be a nice change from the miserable American-style bungalows you see in urban areas.
“Pile foundations are cheap to build and you don’t need to lay a concrete slab, plus there’s plenty of space under the house to relax.”
The two houses will eventually be abandoned to join the incoming children’s center in Bardon (pictured, artist’s impression)
Another Australian pointed out that the original houses could not be demolished to maintain the “residential context” of the neighborhood.
“They typically do not get approval to demolish existing heritage-listed buildings,” they wrote.
“So they just build parking lots and classrooms under and around the building.”
Another Harmony center in Brisbane’s east had a similar problem, but was built around the house rather than needing to be raised.
“Builders can’t touch the building without approval and if they do, they have to come from other old buildings approved by the council,” another commented.