By Ayesha Rehman
Our Wagstaffe build has been named a 2026 Australian Good Design Award Winner in the Engineering Design category.
The Australian Good Design Awards have run since 1958, making them the country’s longest-running international design awards. Every entry is assessed by an independent jury of more than 100 Australian and international design experts, judged on three criteria: Good Design, Design Innovation and Design Impact.
For a modular tiny home, this is recognition from outside our own industry. It was judged alongside engineering, product and built environment work from across Australia and overseas.
What Is the Wagstaffe Build?
Wagstaffe is a family retreat on the NSW Central Coast. The site sits on a 20-degree slope, surrounded by bushland, with no driveway.
It is the kind of block that rules out conventional construction. There was no way to bring in heavy machinery without major earthworks and clearing.
We entered it as Wagstaffe: An Impossible Build. Our install team completed it in one week.
What Did the Jury Say?
“The Jury recognises this project as a thoughtful and impactful example of contemporary modular housing innovation, demonstrating a highly effective response to difficult site conditions with minimal environmental disruption. The flat-pack construction system’s ability to combine affordability, sustainability and livability within a compact footprint is particularly commendable, while maintaining strong architectural clarity and functional flexibility. The Jury was impressed by the innovative use of lightweight aluminium framing and the project’s practical resolution of significant access, budget and terrain challenges, presenting a scalable and commercially viable housing model with clear relevance to broader affordability and accessibility issues facing Australia.”
The word that matters most to us there is scalable. The jury did not just recognise one house. They recognised the construction system behind it.
How Do You Build a Tiny Home on a 20-Degree Slope?
Most Elsewhere Pods arrive at site pre-built. Wagstaffe was the exception, because no truck could reach it.
Our system is designed for exactly this situation. The same pod can be delivered as panels, staged on site and assembled in place. Lightweight aluminium framing keeps each component manageable on steep, uneven ground.
Because the build uses fewer than 1% of the components of a traditional build, there is far less to move, store and assemble. The bushland around the site stayed largely untouched, and the materials are 99.99% recyclable.
The system also gave the owners room to change their minds. As Martijn, the owner, put it: “The modular design allowed us to make very last minute changes to the layout of the panels, even after they were produced.”
You can watch the full Wagstaffe build here, or explore the Wagstaffe project.
Why It Matters for Tiny Homes in Australia
Steep, bush or remote land is often treated as unbuildable, or only buildable at a cost that makes it unrealistic. That limits where Australians can live, host guests or add a granny flat.
Our Founder and CEO Matt Decarne said the award recognises what the business was built to do.
“Wagstaffe was the build everyone said couldn’t be done. A 20-degree slope, bushland on every side, no driveway. We did it in a week. That is the whole point of what we are building: a system that goes where traditional construction can’t, at a price people can actually afford. Having a jury of 100 design experts recognise that means a great deal to the whole team.”
The same engineering sits behind every pod we make, from Wagstaffe to the studios on display at selected Bunnings stores.
What Comes Next
The 2026 Australian Good Design Awards Ceremony takes place on Friday 9 October at the International Convention Centre Sydney, where the Best in Discipline winners and the Australian Good Design Award of the Year will be announced.
For us, Wagstaffe is proof of a simple idea. If the system works on the hardest site we have built on, it works on yours.
Have a block others have called too difficult? Chat to our team.
Key Takeaways
- Elsewhere Pods is an Australian company that designs, manufactures and installs premium modular tiny homes, studios and granny flats.
- Its Wagstaffe build on the NSW Central Coast was named a 2026 Australian Good Design Award Winner in the Engineering Design category.
- The site had a 20-degree slope, surrounding bushland and no driveway. The install was completed in one week.
- The jury highlighted the flat-pack construction system, lightweight aluminium framing and minimal environmental disruption, calling it a scalable housing model relevant to affordability and accessibility in Australia.
- The Australian Good Design Awards, established in 1958, are Australia’s longest-running international design awards, judged by more than 100 independent experts.