ARCHITECT PROFILE - SCOTT CARPENTER
On the verandah of his Architecture studio
in the Australian beachside town of Casuarina,
in Northern New South Wales, Scott Carpenter
gestures towards the surrounding ‘timeless
beach homes’ which showcase the
work of some of Australia’s leading
residential Architects. “I’m
quite privileged and proud to be involved
in a built environment dominated by so
many award winning Architects” says
Scott.
It is a pleasant surprise to come across
such stunningly designed homes nestled
amongst the natural coastal environment.
Caring for his surroundings is obviously
important to Scott and the Casuarina Township
has been an integral part of Scott’s
short but remarkable career to date. The
surrounding homes are a testament to his
intuitive talent and provide clues as
to his strong affinity for the environment.
Architecture is in Scott’s blood;
his father was a designer and builder
which would explain Scott’s connection
to melding design and construction. “From
about the age of eight I knew that I was
always going to be an Architect”,
says Scott. “I’d sit beside
Dad’s drawing table for hours at
night and spend a good portion of my school
holidays on site…absorbing everything.
By the time I was fourteen, he (Dad) even
had me doing some of his drafting”.
Growing up as the son of a designer/builder
gave Scott an enormous sense of the need
for craftsmanship in the building process.
Today, whether it is working on domestic
or commercial projects, Scott likes to
get the builder involved. “When
two well-informed minds meet early in
the design process, problems get solved,”
Scott explains. His father taught him
“anything can be built so long as
you get the detail right”.
Scott established a design and drafting
business on the Northern Beaches of Sydney
for ten years while studying Architecture
at both UTS and UNSW. During his final
year he came across the Ritek Custom Panels
and incorporated them into his final graduation
project. His lecturers did not believe
his claims that these incredibly thin
panels could span up to 8m (now 9.2m)
with a cantilever of 4m. Scott took great
delight in taking in the Ritek specifications
brochure the very next day to prove that
this technology indeed existed and proved
that these incredible structural properties
weren’t far fetched!
On completion of his studies, a friend
of the family asked Scott if he would
be interested in relocating to Brisbane
to join their architectural firm. The
firm was headed by leading Architect Geoffrey
Pie; the inaugural winner of the Robyn
Boyd Award – Australia’s premier
award for residential architecture. Scott’s
reply was “In a heart beat.”
With his pregnant wife in tow, Scott moved
to Queensland, and was welcomed by Geoffrey
Pie as an integral part of his team. Scott
brought a refreshing energy to the firm
and he relished the opportunity to work
closely on designs with Geoffrey, getting
into the nuts and bolts of good design
and detail. Scott’s own design theories
were soon confirmed by Geoffrey, enabling
him to turn them into reality.
Scott was instrumental in designing many
of the original homes within Casuarina
and for some time consulted to the town’s
Architectural Review Committee, ensuring
that all designs met the sensitive area’s
strict environmental requirements. Casuarina
had been sand mined for many years, then
re-vegetated with the noxious weed bitou
bush from South Africa, so the site had
not experienced the best life. It is now
being returned as much as possible to
the one that existed prior to the sand
mining, with the obvious difference being
that a master planned village and community
has been carefully sited into the environment.
After leaving Geoffrey’s firm to
branch out on his own in 2003, Scott started
his own architectural firm in Casuarina.
Scott Carpenter Architect has now grown
to a team of three including Interior
Designer Lauren Daly and Senior Designer
Andy Munford.
Scott is now an award winning Architect
in his own right, taking out numerous
awards including two in last year’s
RAIA NSW Chapter Country Division Architecture
Awards - One for ‘Single Residential
Buildings’ and the other in the
‘Alterations and Additions’
category, both of which used the Ritek
roof system as an integral part of the
design.
Over the past decade, Scott’s work
has been driven by three core objectives:
his appreciation for craftsmanship, contemporary
Architecture and sustainable design.
While now gathering much needed momentum,
sustainable design is not a new-age theory.
For more than 30 years, Queensland Architect’s
such as Robin Gibson, Gabriele Poole,
Geoffrey Pie and countless others all
practiced the fundamentals of sustainability
in their designs.
Like the eco-innovative designers before
him, Scott says the first step of sustainable
design is to get the ‘basics’
right. “Orientate to the North,
shade the windows in the summer and allow
solar penetration in the colder months.
Control the East and West sun and provide
good cross-ventilation and insulation.
This is a good start. If you want to get
serious, start looking at issues such
as water collection and re-use, thermal
mass, re-useable, renewable and recycled
materials, embodied energy, and avoiding
toxic and ‘off-gassing’ materials…the
list goes on.”
“As an Architect, I am constantly
on the lookout for new and innovative
materials and techniques”. Scott
said. “I like the simplicity of
the Ritek insulated roof system. Architecturally,
I was attracted to the incredible cantilevers
provided with such a thin elegant profile”.
Structurally – it can achieve enormous
spans and on an environmental note, it
provides terrific thermal comfort and
is re-usable”.
Scott used the Ritek Roof panel in the
first home that he designed for himself
and his growing family. “I was so
amazed that after my walls were erected,
the Ritek Custom Roof Panel went up and
was completed in two days. Within the
first week of construction, the trades
could work, sheltered from the sun and
rain.” The builder too soon fell
in love with the product. “The speed
and ease of installation of the Ritek
roof saves the builder construction time
of an average of 2 to 3 weeks per project.
It also provides much needed shelter in
high rainfall areas, so there’s
little or no down time”.
Ritek’s Custom Roof Panels have
become an integral part of many of Scott’s
designs and have been incorporated into
approximately half of all the homes he
has designed on the Tweed Coast. “We
have exploited it’s capabilities
in so many and varied ways. Used as a
skillion roof, they allow incredibly wide
eaves and are the perfect solution for
verandah ‘fly-over’ roofs,
while the curved panels allow for high
vaulted ceilings without a centre support.
If I had to summarize, I’d say that
the homes that I have designed using Ritek
tend to exude an overwhelming ‘sense
of shelter’ and let’s face
it, no matter what the environment –
that’s what a home should do”.
For further information see Scott Carpenter’s
website:
Web:
http://www.scottcarpenterarchitect.com.au
Or phone: (02) 6674 0488
For further details on the custom roof
panels used in these award winning homes
contact Ritek Building Solutions on phone
1800 066 321.
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