This is part of a special series of articles profiling the speakers at Archifest 08 Forum which will be held on the 16 & 17 October 2008 at the Drama Centre @ NLB, Singapore. To find out more, click here for everything Archifest 08 on FIVEFOOTWAY.com or go to the official website.

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When Andrew Maynard was just starting out his practice, he dropped “hello” cards in letterboxes, with a business card attached, in areas where he knew people shared a similar ideology with him to get some projects. This is of course not necessary anymore as today, Andrew Maynard’s practice is perhaps one of the most sought after practices around the world.

Named in Wallpaper Magazine’s Architects Directory, an “annual guide to the world’s most innovative practices”, Andrew Maynard’s design practice is quickly becoming recognised as an emerging force on the architectural scene. Since Andrew Maynard Architects was established in late 2002 it has been recognised internationally in media, awards and exhibitions for its unique body of built work and its experimental and conceptual design polemics.

In 1996 Andrew Maynard received a Bachelor degree in Environmental Design from the University of Tasmania and in 1998 he graduated with honours in a Bachelor of Architecture from the same University. In 1998 with friend Stephen Mees, Andrew won the Graphisoft international design awards for the design of The Devil’s Ballroom.

On his practice’s website, he writes that he “spends half of his time undertaking architectural commissions and half entering design competitions”. Maynard explains in an Archinect interview that he uses these competitions to explore a number of issues that he wants to explore without the confines of client and budget. Also, these projects tend to encapsulate the kind of architecture that he is interested in promoting, marketing and doing.

It also goes without saying that much of Andrew Maynard’s work has captured the attention of the media which he admits helps to generate more work for him. Established design magazines such as Wallpaper and Pol Oxygen have all featured him in their publications and are constantly looking out for what he will create next.

“Maynard’s work offers a flash of illumination toward the next generation of smart, compact, elegant home design. Each project begs a long, awe-inspired look and makes the future look like a very nice place to live.”

Inhabitat

Beyond being the media darling, Andrew Maynard is perhaps the manifestation of an architectural environmental activist of the 21st Century. It is perhaps rightly so that one of his most (in)famous project is the design of a treehouse structure, the Global Rescue Station. Maynard’s design is attached semi-permanently to the trunks of three trees and acts as a shelter for protestors during their demonstrations. Not only that, this Andrew Maynard brainchild also takes out anything beneath or around it if a logger dares to cut down its supports.

The Global Rescue Station initially emerged in the midst of opposition to clearcutting in Tasmania’s Styx Valley Forest. The first iteration consisted of two platforms roped into the canopy of a single gum tree (affectionately named Gandalf). Maynard has since advanced his protest design strategy to create the concept for GRS Generation 2, which uses far more refined methods and materials to create a bi-level shelter replete with solar panels and sleeping quarters.

Other that the GRS, Maynard has also been exploring prefab solutions in his designs, resulting in projects such as the BOB, a mobile house for the future and his entry into the VicUrban Affordable Housing Competition. Andrew Maynard’s imaginative exploration into creating architectural solutions in response to various environmental issues resulting in projects such as the Poop House makes him one to watch in this year’s Archifest Forum. With the theme Man + Environment, we can expect Maynard to share some of the thought processes and ideas behind these brilliant projects and perhaps offer us inspiration on how to explore this complex relationship between man and environment. After all, this is the man who ‘dismisses sustainability as a theme’ but simply ‘the right way to do things’.

FIVEFOOTWAY.com will be conducting a special interview with Andrew Maynard which will be online in late Oct/early November. Meanwhile, do check back for more profiles of the Archifest Forum speakers coming up over the next few days.

FURTHER READING
Official Website- Andrew Maynard

Adib is the co-founder of 5ft Creatives and he loves to walk on the FIVEFOOTWAY.

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Andrew Maynard