Self-sustaining Coastal retreat
Thomas Seear-Budd
Wellington High School
Year 13 Graphics
Teacher: Barry Boothby
Coastal retreat workbook gallery
Thomas, New Zealand's top scholar in Graphics 2008, received his award for his work on a design for a sustainable house that made maximum use of its environment.
His client wanted a home that would also suit a family if his circumstances changed, and specified that the building should be as self-sufficient as possible and an example of "modern, organic architecture". He wanted a unique architectural design that would integrate with the natural components of the site, and that the house should be sited to take advantage of the coastal views but be protected from the prevailing winds.
Thomas researched the legal restrictions regarding building sites and building materials, looking at the Resource Management Act and Wellington City Council bylaws. He also had to consider environmental issues in terms of existing trees, should any need to be removed, and which plants would best suit the site for future planting.
Thomas, who had attended a Graphics scholarship workshop with Onslow College HOD Graphics Ron van Musscher the previous year, made contact with him again and Ron acted as his mentor throughout the year – particularly advantageous in a period when Thomas's teacher had left the school and new HOD Barry Boothby hadn't yet arrived.
Thomas looked at the Scholarship marking schedule with Ron and addressed the three Graphics strands – Visual Communication, Synthesis and Design Thinking. He initially concentrated on using the best visual communication techniques possible to underpin his design thinking, considering the layout of each page including the background, heading, images and sketches, and annotations – then looking at how they are all organised and the narrative they relate. Thomas also looked at numerous exemplars, to develop a theme and layout that matched his project. He varied the thematic to reflect the stages of his project as it developed –altering the background and base colour but retaining the layout. Thomas practised and developed a drawing style that was efficient for him and very clear and communicative.
When working out his layout Thomas considered the Synthesis strand (reflecting the way thinking and visual communication is organised and structured, linked to the information and thinking undertaken and the methods/tools used) and decided to link his visual diary into his presentation, scanning the pages and pasting them onto the presentation sheets as a reference. He put a great deal of thought into the layout and thematic evolution of the presentation sheets – to tell the story of his design, justify his decision-making and present a convincing outcome.
Thomas used a range of modes and media, from traditional coloured pen sketching to computer drawing and rendering. He taught himself Photoshop, to organise the backgrounds and layout, SketchUp, SketchUp Pro, and ArchiCAD to develop his drawings and presentation pages.
Thomas investigated examples of sustainable buildings, considering shape, spacing, strength, materials and the technology involved, and then examined the use and properties of solar panels and wind turbines in making a house more sustainable. His final design incorporated a wind turbine at the back of the site to take advantage of the strong southerly winds in that spot. Thomas placed solar panels on the top of the roof and, after consulting an architect who had invented the 'warm wall', added an aluminium slab wall to convert the warmth generated by the wall into warm air ducted through the house.
Aesthetics and the need to maximise the sunlight were important specifications, and Thomas notes that the roof design was a major component in the 'look' of his concept designs. He showed eight concepts to his client who decided at that point to change the brief and requested a house that would be big enough for two families to live in comfortably and include communal and private spaces for them.
Thomas adapted his client's chosen concept to fit this new specification, discussing the various options with him and explaining why some of his client's suggestions, such as placement of ensuite bathrooms, wouldn't work effectively in a house full of people.
Thomas showed his client a range of suitable exterior wall cladding – including titanium plates, corrugated iron plates, shingled cedar and weather boards – and discussed their varying attributes. The interior design incorporated a large amount of exposed wood which complemented the design and also reflected his client's Japanese cultural heritage, as did the inside garden plants.
Thomas designed the landscaping, and included a garage with laundry when his client added this to the brief; he used the same materials and roof design for the garage to create a visual link with the house. The original landscaping plan didn't call for any excavation but after consulting his client, who decided different levels would create some variation on the site, Thomas included this in the design.
The developed design achieved what his client had wanted, says Thomas, and the exterior and interior of the building provided a unique look. As planned, the roof was a stand-out feature of the overall design with the directional flow of the roofs resembling the waves seen in the harbour view. "The roof has a left-to-right movement in the same way we read a book," says Thomas, "so that the viewer can absorb it as a single structure, body or entity."
"My client allowed me a lot of creative freedom – he made quite a few major changes but that was okay as it kept me on my toes and really challenged me. I am proud to have designed this house."
Teacher comments
Barry Boothby:
Thomas's work was thorough, both aesthetically and technically such as his research into sustainability, and offered various proposals and solutions to meet the client's needs creatively. He presented the work professionally and documented his thought process.
Ron van Musscher:
Thomas's work in the Design Thinking component is detailed and meticulous, any relevant aspect was thought through and he compared and contrasted various solutions to make an appropriate design decision. He
realised that at Scholarship level he needed to produce an original solution and his curved, arched structure provided the complexity and innovation necessary, to say nothing of the challenge!
