Peter Maddison meets Daniel Leipnik and Andrew Preston, who plan to build a slick, pavilion-style home, huddled around a pool and propped up by poles on a coastal hillside outside Cairns.

Mike and Lowen are passionate about conserving water and, like many, decide to put a couple of water tanks in their new house. But these are massive, custom-designed steel anchors that support the house above the ground.