Grand Designs
The essence of interesting spaces
Build & Renovate magazine chats with Matt Gutsell, associate director of Sheppard & Rout Architects, about what constitutes grand, sustainable design and how going back to the fundamentals can create a truly stunning, longlasting home. Current projects Sheppard & Rout associate director, Matt Gutsell has been working on include the new Spark corporate building in Christchurch’s Cathedral Square, South Brighton Surf Life Saving Club and the rebuild of Majestic Church on Durham Street.
In terms of residential design, Matt has recently worked on homes in Governors Bay and Rangiora, as well as his own home in Lower Cashmere.
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People centre their lives around their homes, a place to be with loved ones and build their lives up from. To many, your home is considered one of your most prized assets, not only because of its security and monetary value but because of the memories and associations forged within it. While complicated feats of architecture never cease to amaze us, a simple and straightforward design will withstand the test of time by outliving any architectural trends and by outperforming other homes that chose complicated solutions over pragmatic ones.
But that doesn’t mean that simple or sustainable solutions can’t make for breathtaking architecture. “Pragmatic design principles – keeping forms and materials simple – can reduce costs versus overcomplicating things,” Matt says. “Through good design, sustainability can be viewed in different ways: sustainable technology, sustainable materials, passive house design – the drive behind that is simple forms and airtight, efficient spaces. This can be limiting architecturally and in particular interesting spatial connections. “A key driver is to assess the environmental response to the site and include good passive house design principles at early stages of the concept – put simply, balancing solar gain, shading and ventilation. A good verandah and sheltered courtyard provide simple solutions.” Matt says.
