If you want to see a bright future for Australian housing, look no further than Stradbroke Island, just off the coast of Brisbane. There, surrounded by typical 1950s pitch-roofed cottages, three identical rectangular blocks sit side by side, housing three 60-something siblings and their families.

Prefabricated offsite and trucked into position, the mini village, known as Blok Three Sisters, offers a beachside getaway for the families while acting as a manifesto for the future of sustainable communal living.