An experimental off-grid home that celebrity landscaper Jamie Durie aimed to build within 12 weeks has been described as an unfinished ‘shambles’, more than six months after building work was due to stop.

Durie set out to construct Australia’s second 3D-printed concrete dwelling on a former dairy farm at Nashua in the Byron Bay hinterland for his Nine Network series Future Houses.

In the final episode of the program, which aired on December 23 last year, a camera panned around the residence – which was to feature a rooftop garden – as Durie said, ‘There’s a few finishing touches to make.’

‘Sure, we’re not quite there yet,’ he admitted. ‘There’s a few tiles to go on, there’s a few lights to go in the place and it’s going to be a busy summer. 

‘However, the bones of the house are here and it is absolutely extraordinary.’

Durie had earlier suggested to local news outlet Byron Coast Times that the structure had gone up even quicker than expected: ‘The team here has proven that you can build a house in a month.’

Summer and autumn have passed and it would appear the project is still far from complete, as pictures taken last week and obtained by the Daily Mail show.

Images reveal tradesmen toiling away on what is still a construction site, with work vans, a tracked backhoe loader and trailers parked around the house. 

An experimental off-grid home that celebrity landscaper Jamie Durie aimed to build within 12 weeks has been described as an unfinished ‘shambles’, more than six months after building work was due to stop. The house is pictured this week

Durie bought a 28.49-hectare property at Nashua for $3.625million in January 2023, with plans to eventually move there with fiancée Ameka Jane and their young children, Beau and Nash. Durie and Jane are pictured

Durie set out to construct Australia’s second 3D-printed concrete dwelling on a former dairy farm at Nashua in the Byron Bay hinterland for his Channel Nine series Future Houses. Pictured is an artist’s impression of the building

A skip bin, shipping containers, wooden pallets, plastic sheeting, buckets, building materials and rubble are scattered around the perimeter while concrete blocks are stacked on the roof.

A television insider who has followed the building work’s progress described the house as ‘an unfinished shambles’.

‘It was supposed to go up in less than a month using the latest 3D concrete-printing tech,’ the source added.

Durie maintains the ambitious project is a success, having reached ‘lock-up stage’ – when the building is weatherproof and secure – within 38 days. Only the garden and surrounding landscaping are yet to be finished. 

One Northern Rivers resident who has seen the site acknowledged the house, which was hidden from the nearest road, would be impressive once completed.

‘It’s going to be lovely when it’s done,’ he said. ‘But at the moment it’s a work in progress.

‘It looks like the flooring’s not finished inside. There’s scaffolding all around the roof. The pool’s not done.

‘You’d imagine there’s a few months of work to do. I’m sure it’s going to be beautifully landscaped and presented – but it’s far from finished.’ 

Durie’s project in the Northern Rivers region of NSW is far from complete, as pictures taken earlier this week and obtained by the Daily Mail show 

A skip bin, shipping containers, wooden pallets, plastic sheeting, buckets, building materials and rubble are scattered around the perimeter

‘Sure, we’re not quite there yet,’ Durie admitted in December. ‘There’s a few tiles to go on, there’s a few lights to go in the place… ‘ He is pictured at the property

Durie bought the 28.49-hectare property, known as Akubra, for $3.625million in January 2023, with plans to eventually move there with fiancée Ameka Jane and their young children, Beau and Nash. 

The estate came with a three-bedroom farmhouse, five-hole golf course, lagoon-style pool and enough room to run 40 head of cattle or more than 300 sheep. 

‘We use this as our country escape, but at sometime in the future we’ll definitely move here permanently,’ Durie told Byron Coast Times seven months ago. 

The stripper-turned-horticulturist had long dreamt of settling in the Northern Rivers district, having spent childhood holidays surfing at Tallows Beach, Lennox Head and The Pass.

Durie knocked down a caretaker’s cottage and began building a family home after listing his mansion at Avalon on Sydney’s northern beaches for $33million.

The new house was to be built around a large existing tree, shown in plans, but that plant appears to have been replaced with a palm.

Construction involved using a 3D concrete printer, which pumps cement in a continuous stream to form walls in record time, and he documented the process in Jamie Durie’s Future House.

The reality program featured three couples, including Durie and Jane, racing against the clock to build environmentally friendly homes with the latest technology in three months.

The series brought together ‘daring’ builders, designers and innovators to design and build Australia’s house of the future – one that was ‘sustainable, resilient, cost-effective, fast to build and stylish’. 

The new house was to be built around a large existing tree, shown in this artist’s impression of the finished building

The existing tree at the centre of Durie’s new home has been replaced with a palm, shown in this picture of the incomplete building  

The Durie house, which has Australia’s first double-glazed louvre windows and a solar system capable of generating 150kW of energy a day, was built with non-combustible materials that are storm, wind and flood-proof. 

While 56-year-old Durie oversaw construction, singer-songwriter Jane looked after interiors and furnishings.

‘Jamie Durie and Ameka Jane are taking on one of their most daring projects yet: a 3D-printed concrete home that promises to flip the script on everything we think we know about building,’ the show’s website stated.

‘Together, Jamie and Ameka are embracing cutting-edge construction with a home that’s literally printed, layer by layer, from concrete. 

‘It’s bold, it’s experimental, and it’s packed with that signature spark they bring to every creative adventure. This is the Durie Twist – sustainability meets innovation, wrapped in Jamie’s design flair and Ameka’s eye for style.

‘This isn’t just another building project. It’s a world-first statement piece. A boundary-pushing, head-turning home you truly have to see to believe.’

In early December, he told nine.com.au: ‘I don’t know if I’m crazy, brave or stupid but this 3D-printed concrete house is either going to be something very special or a huge white elephant in a beautiful forest.’

Durie described transporting the 3D concrete printing machine from Sydney to Nashua as ‘interesting’ in an interview with realestate.com.au the previous month.

A television insider who has followed the building work’s progress described the house as ‘an unfinished shambles’

One Northern Rivers resident who has seen the site said the house, which was hidden from the nearest road, would be impressive once completed

‘We’ve had some teething battles,’ he conceded, ‘but that’s what pioneering new methods is about. 

‘It’s about ensuring we find better ways to build faster. Especially if we are short on trades, we need to ensure that some of our building industry adopts automation.’

About the same time, Durie indicated to Byron Coast Times that construction of the four-bedroom house was on target.

‘The response has been amazing and the way the building community here in Byron has supported us is something we will be forever grateful for,’ he said.

‘They have worked for around 21 days straight to get this thing finished.

‘We plan to do the reveals around the 19th of December and we go to air on the 23rd – it’s that tight. 

‘We’re building this in real time. How often do you see a luxury, off-grid house built in a month?’

Durie dropped the price of his six-bedroom, six-bathroom Avalon Beach home (above) in June after it failed to sell for $33million at auction earlier this year

Durie was overseas and unable to be reached for comment about the Nashua property but his manager, Chris Giannopoulos, provided a detailed statement. 

‘The core element of what was being tested in Future House season one was new forms of sustainable building and, in Jamie’s case, it was the 3D printing technology and the house achieved lock-up stage in 38 days,’ Giannopoulos said.

‘As Jamie said at the end of the last season, the full build wasn’t complete and he was honest about that and we will be picking up on that in season two, which is in production presently.’

Giannopoulos said the kitchen was finished, appliances had been installed, and all interior tiling, carpet flooring, windows, doors and walls had been completed.  

‘We are simply finishing off the exterior tiles, the pool and the garden,’ he said.

‘There was no need to rush to finish the garden and the exterior landscaping when he didn’t have to and Jamie has quite enjoyed taking his time with it.

‘The roof garden goes in shortly and we are very pleased and appreciative of all of the local trades who have worked hard with great craftsmanship to bring this house to life.’

A Nine Network spokesman declined to comment. 

Durie dropped the price of his six-bedroom, six-bathroom Avalon Beach home, known as Belah House, in June after it failed to sell for $33million at auction earlier this year.

The waterfront property, which Durie and Jane bought for $2.27million in 2015, is now listed for $28million.

The couple knocked down a four-bedroom 1960s house and spent a decade planning and building an enormous multi-level structure, putting $3million into the project. 

Durie was granted approval for what he has dubbed the ‘Trojan horse of sustainability’ despite Northern Beaches Council receiving more than 50 objections from angry locals.