The Natural Artisan: Winter 2015

WINTER 2015

THOUGHTFUL DESIGN FOR FUNCTIONAL OUTDOOR LIVING

INSPIRING AND EMPOWERING PEOPLE TO BUILD GREEN

NURTURING THE CRAFT OF THE ARTISAN Winter 2015

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The Natural Artisan

WINTER 2015

CON TENT S 04

COMFORT ZONE: SINERJI ETHICAL CLOTHING

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CREATE. DO. INSPIRE

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THOUGHTFUL DESIGN FOR FUNCTIONAL OUTDOOR LIVING

Tools of the trade at rest during a job by Igor and the team at So Solid. Photography: Rebecca Park

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Winter 2015

INSPIRING AND EMPOWERING PEOPLE TO BUILD GREEN

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AN ARCHITECTURAL PERSPECTIVE OF SUSTAINABILITY

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NURTURING THE CRAFT OF THE ARTISAN WINTER ISSUE

Cover Image: Tree sculpture in ROCKCOTE render by artisan Shannon Whitehill at Outside Noosa’s showroom. See story page 08 Cover Photography: Ross Eason

EDITORIAL

Editor: Rebecca Park

Design: Tiam Whitfield

Contact: editor@thenaturalartisan.com

The Natural Artisan: bringing together ‘the creators’ of all kinds to celebrate and share the art of crafting beautiful spaces and objects.

We do this with a collective intention to live in tune with nature.

As Tolkien said in The Fellowship of the Ring: “We put the thought of all that we love into all that we make.”

A ROCKCOTE Publication 3

COMFORT ZONE

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The Natural Artisan

VERTICAL GARDENS ARE ATTRACTIVE AND VERSATILE Vertical gardens are becoming a popular and attractive space-spacing feature for homes and offices.

They’re not only aesthetically appealing but can be calming and help to freshen the indoor air. Vertical gardens can be a versatile option to bring a little bit of nature into courtyards, outdoor kitchens, balconies and offices.

Atlantis Aurora has an extensive range of vertical gardens which can be tailored to suit any space or specification. The Aurora team specialises in design, installation and ongoing maintenance Australia wide. We just love the effect their modular garden gives to this courtyard.

More at www.atlantisaurora.com

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The Natural Artisan

Thoughtful design for functional

outdoor living

Concrete Wall: ROCKCOTE White Set with oxides, polished to a lustre finish with a stainless steel trowel.

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The Natural Artisan

Functional, low maintenance indoor-outdoor areas are increasingly sought by homeowners looking to maximise space and embrace outdoor living.

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he emergence of the indooroutdoor room and more seamless integration between the interior and exterior of a home has largely been fuelled by lifestyle shows and smaller yard sizes, according to Outside Noosa coowner, John Scomparin.

“The focus is all about outdoor living. There have been a lot of lifestyle shows that provide ideas and concepts and people want to incorporate the functionality of inside living outside these days. With smaller block sizes becoming more common and Queensland’s mild climate, many people want to make full use of the interior and exterior with low maintenance gardens and versatile spaces where they can entertain.”

“In our experience there is a high demand for outdoor rooms and lifestyle spaces with large pavilions or pergolas incorporating outdoor kitchens,” John explained.

John and business partner, Andrew Taylor, established Outside Noosa 12 years ago and recently opened a brand new design centre and showroom at Noosaville. Originally a tile shop, the space has been completely redesigned to capture the essence of the indoor-outdoor living trend, providing ideas and inspiration to clients who are building or renovating.

“People often have a concept of what they might like but find it very difficult to visualise the completed project or how the various elements will work to create their desired look. We can put the whole story together and show them, how, on a large scale, products and finishes will go together. We have intentionally used large wall and floor spaces to give people a better idea of how a type of paver is going to work with a rendered wall or stone cladding for example.”

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“OUR AIM IS TO BRING THOUGHTFUL DESIGN TO INTEGRATED INDOOR-OUTDOOR SPACES...”

HOW SHANNON CREATED THE MAIN FEATURE WALL:

An initial first coat of ROCKCOTE Patch & Prep with black oxide was applied over the painted blockwork. Shannon then applied two coats of render, a combination of ROCKCOTE Quick Render Fine and ROCKCOTE Quick Render Off White with Acrybond. When the render was almost dry, green oxide was sprayed on and washed off. A top coat of ROCKCOTE Quick Render Off White in two colours - natural and with black oxide – was then applied and left to cure. The tree sculpture was chiseled by hand back to the first coat of Patch & Prep, revealing the black oxide underneath.

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The Natural Artisan

Leather look desk with rustic and undulating finish created by artisan Shannon Whitehill

When it came to wall finishes, John worked with artisan Shannon Whitehill to create a series of creative feature walls that offer something different and contemporary.

This look can be used on interior and exterior feature walls, and is a piece of art in itself; the colours and polish expressing themselves in slightly different ways in each location.

“I wanted people to see the finishes and not know how they had been achieved or what product was used to create the look unless they asked,” Shannon said.

Shannon is one of a team of passionate professionals Outside Noosa draws together to complete their projects, which can vary from small renovations to multi million dollar homes, hotels and commercial developments.

Shannon’s rustic, sculpted concrete mural is a major feature of the exterior section of the showroom, a ten metre wide wall inspired by urban style.

“There are artists around the world who do massive city murals and they start with a solid wall and use a jackhammer to carve it out.

That’s where the inspiration came from, I just tried it on a smaller scale,” Shannon said.

The mural was created using several different layers of concrete products and coloured oxides. Once the layers were complete and cured, Shannon chiseled back to the first coat that was loaded with black oxides to sculpt the tree that dominates the mural.

Other features of the space include a leather look reception desk made from ROCKCOTE Lime Plaster Basecote and ROCKCOTE Marrakesh, and several stunning polished concrete look walls created with ROCKCOTE White Set and coloured oxides.

The clever use of oxides on the concretelook walls give a softer, polished effect and a warmth to the colour that is not usually achievable with standard concrete products.

Winter 2015

“Andrew and I are experienced landscapers with design and construction expertise, and we also have an in-house interior designer.

We can do complete design concepts – from the interior design to the exterior spaces. We have our own construction team - carpenters and builders, landscapers and pavers so don’t need to subcontract anything. People are comfortable with that – they want to be able to deal with one company and not have to find their own tradespeople,” said John.

“Our aim is to bring thoughtful design to integrated indoor-outdoor spaces and create living areas that are functional, stylish and dateless so people don’t have to change them every two or three years.”

PROJECT DETAILS

Outside Noosa, 4 Rene Street, Noosaville QLD 4566 www.outsidenoosa.com.au Owners: John Scomparin and Andrew Taylor

Outdoor living showroom with interior design and exterior living concept spaces

Artisan (feature walls and reception desk): Shannon Whitehill, Australian Artisans Photography: Ross Eason 11

Alice Moffett, Dave Rastovich and Deb Preston at the Green Building Centre.

Across the country and across the globe, an evolution is underway that is changing the way we think about and construct buildings. As more people become aware of the impact of buildings on the environment and our health, demand is increasing for structures that have less impact on the planet and contribute more positively to our wellbeing.

Words by Rebecca Park

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The Natural Artisan

The GBC’s mission is to provide information, products and services to support Australians to build and renovate in a healthier and more sustainable way.

a carefully selected range of sustainable building products and services as well as offer guidance to builders, designers, home owners and do-it-yourself renovators.

Green Building Centre Director, Deb Preston said that the Centre’s goal is to make green building attractive and accessible to everyone.

The GBC aims to support the shift to sustainable building and provide:

Connected to GBC is Painted Earth, a shop and online store that offers Australia’s largest range of eco friendly and non-toxic house paints and wood finishes. The Green Building Centre is an “information hub” that draws on the experience and expertise of the dynamic Painted Earth team to offer

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Simple and easy to access information on why and how to build green

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to trustworthy green building products and services

• Assistance

with planning their green build and how to get the best from the products and services available

Surfer Dave Rastovich turned to eco-friendly products for his Northern Rivers home renovation. Photography: Sybil Steele 14

The Natural Artisan

Allan Martin and Frances Mangleson from Base Design and Construction selecting products for their latest project at the Green Building Centre.

Photography: Jules Hunt

Well-known surfer and activist, Dave Rastovich, “There are so many hardware stores where turned to the Green Building Centre when you can buy materials but the sellers don’t he embarked on a major renovation of his know where the products come from or Northern NSW home. their impact. The team at the Green Building Centre knows where everything is from. I “To me, the Green Building Centre is priceless,” was even able to obtain information about he said. “I’m no professional builder so it was the shipping of the Finnish Birch Plywood we really great to come in and talk to real people use – Deb has looked into the manufacturing who would advise me on different products process, the manufacturer and even the that were super gentle on me and my family.” impact of shipping to regional Australia. It is “That’s pretty rare, you don’t find that when you nice to relay that back to clients especially walk into a standard shop with toxic paints when you promote a more sustainable option and toxic products everywhere. It is actually that might be a little more expensive.” really amazing to come here and have a lot “Choosing non-toxic products is important of choice when it comes to earth friendly for my health, the health of people using the products,” Dave said. products and the people who live in spaces Frances Mangleson from Base Design and we create. We are hoping to be doing this Construction, a partnership that specialises in for the rest of our lives and don’t want to be sustainable and non-toxic renovations, said exposed to arsenic, formaldehyde and volatile having access to non-toxic products from a organic compounds. We want the products supplier she could trust saved time and built to be sustainable and made by a conscious client confidence. company that is not exploiting anyone.”

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“Working with the Green Building Centre and Painted Earth is about being able to make an informed decision and giving information to your clients so they can make an informed decision too.”

- Frances Mangleson

Creating a healthy world for us, and our children is something Deb Preston has been passionate about all her life.

“In my early twenties, I learnt the difference between conventional farming and organic farming. It was obvious to me which one was more sustainable. My consciousness changed.

Buying organic was supporting my health and the health of people I loved as well as supporting organic farmers and the renewal of the earth.”

From this foundation of consciousness, Painted Earth was born, paving the way eight years later for the creation of Australia’s first Green Building Centre. It is Deb’s vision that the Centre will help to transform the slow and steady evolution of green building into a green building revolution that sweeps across the country.

“Greenhouse emissions are rising. Climate IS changing. The Earth is being destroyed, plundered and polluted. The toxins in our world are increasing every day. Over 30% of global greenhouse gases are from buildings.

We need a revolution in our thinking and our way of living. The way we build and renovate is key to this.”

“The ultimate aim of the Green Building Centre is to inspire and empower people who are contributing to the positive evolution of humanity.”

References

1. www.gbca.org.au/resources/gbca-publications/greenbuilding-evolution-2013 2. www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/about.htm 3. www.austrade.gov.au/greenbuildings 16

Photography: Jules Hunt The Natural Artisan

Workshops and seminars are an important part of the Green Building Centre’s mission to educate more people about building green. Photography: Alice Moffett

The Centre’s Six Key Focus Areas to achieve a green home 1. Siting and design for passive heating and cooling: Get this right and your house will be comfortable all year round with minimal need for artificial heating and cooling.

2. Reduced energy consumption: Use materials with low

embodied energy or recycled materials; install solar and energy efficient appliances.

3. Reduced water consumption: Install a rainwater tank; grey water system; composting toilet; and permaculture or native garden.

4. Avoid waste and toxic pollution: Choose recycled,

non-toxic, non-polluting or natural materials, finishes and furnishings. Instruct tradespeople to avoid waste and dumping of toxic materials.

5. Consider social and economically sustainable as well as environmental sustainability: i.e.

durability and affordability.Â

liveability,

6. Be innovative: creative, new designs and ideas inspire and

motivate us and contribute to the positive evolution of humanity.

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by Ray Maher

Architecture is founded on ideas of shelter, structure, aesthetics, social interaction and collective meaning that have developed over centuries. Our society continues to evolve however, and new knowledge demands new ideas. Our growing awareness of mass extinction, resource depletion and climate change mean that continuing to build as we have been keeps us on the path towards social and ecological collapse.

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his article tracks recent developments in sustainable design education as taught in the School of Architecture at the University of Queensland.

The places we live and work are central to our pursuit of a sustainable future. Buildings are where we use most of our energy, water and materials, and where we produce the majority of our waste. The spaces we inhabit are also a lens through which we interact with the world. They can isolate us or they can help us to engage with society and nature.

New understandings of natural and industrial systems cast new light on the materials we use and how we regenerate the land on which we build. These ideas are important to everyone who makes decisions about buildings and they are bringing about a revolution in how we build.

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Due to poor design, around 40% of the energy we use in our homes is for heating and cooling. Ironically, staying cool is accelerating global warming. By understanding the path of the sun and the flow of energy through materials we can design buildings to be cool in summer, cosy in winter and delightful day and night, rain and shine. ‘Thermally massive’ materials like earth and stone can store the day’s warmth until evening, while roof forms capture breezes and control the sun’s rays.

Mastering these approaches is known as ‘passive design’ where a home need not burn coal to be comfortable. When our buildings compliment the local climate it helps us to connect more directly with the outdoors. Our experience of home becomes a celebration of the place we live.

“A RESURGENCE OF PASSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE DESIGN IS INSPIRING A REIMAGINING OF TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDINGS.”

The Natural Artisan

Our ancestors have inhabited every corner of the globe from alpine ridges, to harsh deserts to dense jungles. Over millennia they adapted their buildings to create comfortable environments in every climate. Some are truly remarkable.

For generations, the Ainu people of Japan’s Northern island have built compact, dome-shaped homes; half buried and heavily insulated to retain heat. In the tropical highlands of Papua New Guinea, treetop huts capture cool breezes and provide an escape from biting insects. In the city of Yazd in the central Iranian desert, summer temperatures soar to over 50 degrees. Here a labyrinth of earth buildings form deep, shady streets.

Tall wind scoops reach high above the city and draw air down through the cool earth. Underground, it passes over water where it is cooled through evaporation before it flows into the home.

With the spread of air-conditioning this ancient knowledge was abandoned and sameness spread across the world. Now, a resurgence of passive and sustainable design is inspiring a reimagining of traditional architecture and buildings are again working in harmony with their environment.

As major carbon emitters, homes have a central role to play in the fight against global warming. By combining passive design, efficient appliances and renewable energy, a new generation of zero energy homes are exporting more energy than they use, and getting paid for the privilege. Even a simple solar hot water system saves a quarter of household energy use and money invested quickly returns as profit.

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Truly sustainable buildings however, must go far beyond passive design and manage their own resources. Like a lifeform, a building can collect energy and water from its environment, use it efficiently and recycle it. In this way we can consider buildings as organisms and cities as ecosystems. As in a forest, waste from one process becomes a resource for another.

These ideas lead us to consider the entire lifecycle of materials, inspiring new building materials which are renewable, non-toxic and recyclable. There are countless new products made from rapidly growing or recycled sources. For example bamboo and pine grow rapidly while earth walls create cool spaces and return to the earth at the end of their life.

From this perspective of sustainable design, water falling on a site is recognised as a precious resource.

Many homes now harvest rainwater and recycle grey water, becoming self-reliant. Rain gardens and reed beds can help to filter water and return it to the ground instead of the drain. New generation composting toilets are clean, waterless and turn waste into fertiliser for the most vibrant gardens.

This holistic view of buildings leads naturally to a consideration of the whole site and beyond. At Project Habitation we create a landscape design as an integral part of every project. In our view, the landscape is inseparable from architecture leading to a seamless flow from inside to out and a celebration of life’s diversity. A landscaped courtyard for example can be the most beautiful and cheapest space in a home. With lush native gardens

and food production, each project acts to regenerate the environment in which it is set.

By combining these methods, projects can go beyond efficiency to export energy and water, provide food, wildlife habitat and regenerate the environment. These inspirational projects are known as ‘net positive developments’. The alternative, net negative development, clearly leads to an impoverished future for all who share this planet.1 These new ways of thinking required for sustainability also enrich our lives through a deeper understanding of the world we live in and our relationship with it.

It becomes clear that through our buildings we are shaping society, the built environment and the future of life on earth. As designers, our sphere of influence extends far beyond the site boundaries.

This holistic perspective seeks to create not just beautiful buildings, but beautiful interactions between the things we build and the natural systems which support life. The architecture this inspires is experientially rich, intimately connected to its environment and lays the foundation of a sustainable future.

Ray Maher

Ray Maher is a co-founder of Project Habitation building design, a researcher in sustainability strategies and a lecturer in sustainable design at the University of Queensland’s School of Architecture. He strives to develop harmonious solutions to the multifaceted challenges of sustainability in his practice, research and as a member of Global Change Institute’s College of Experts . www.projecthabitation.com.au References

1. Birkeland, Janis. Positive development: from vicious circles to virtuous cycles through built environment design.

Routledge, 2012.

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Words: Rebecca Park. Photography: Tony Thorogood.

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here is a good reason why ROCKCOTE refers to people who work with our natural materials as artisans. Working with natural building materials is a highly skilled process that requires comprehensive knowledge of building systems, application techniques and an understanding of individual products.

But there’s a lot more than that to being an artisan. Wikipedia defines an artisan as “a skilled craft worker who makes or creates things by hand that may be functional or strictly decorative. Artisans practice a craft and may through experience and aptitude reach the expressive levels of an artist.”

There’s a passion, an acknowledgement of the craft as something much more than a trade, an intimate relationship between the artisan, the products and the tools used to create unique and beautiful finishes.

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John Cooke working with a Japanese trowel at the Natural Materials workshop in the Blue Mountains.

ROCKCOTE’s two-day Natural Materials workshop gives tradespeople and building professionals an opportunity to learn more about our natural finishes. Following the completion of the workshop, tradespeople interested in working with natural materials can obtain artisan certification once on-the-job experience is satisfied.

A recent workshop in the Blue Mountains hosted by ROCKCOTE and Jason Dash from Mud & Straw Concepts enabled artisans-intraining to learn on a project underway.

The home under construction and designed

by Jason Dash is a hybrid of various natural construction techniques with straw bale walls and some earth rendered light straw walls. The exterior is a combination of corrugated iron and earth render. Jason and his team built the foundations and homeowner, Mary Gleeson and her family have completed much of the additional building under their guidance.

The Natural Artisan

The packed two-day workshop program included the application of Marrakesh and Venetian Plaster to several walls in the kitchen, Lime Plaster Basecote on the exterior and sample boards of Otsumigaki and other products.

According to ROCKCOTE Natural Materials specialist, Tony Thorogood, the cold and damp weather required some careful planning to complete all of the finishes required over two days.

“The preparation and application of Marrakesh was the first priority,” said Tony. “Due to the rainy, cold weather and the area we needed to cover, the Marrakesh was taught first, allowing it to dry overnight and be finished on the next morning,” Tony said.

Marrakesh was applied on splashbacks in the kitchen, with an initial 2mm coat left to sit for 20 minutes. A second coat of 2-3mm

was then applied and finished smooth using thin,flexible, stainless steel trowels. Tony said that the polishing process surprised both Mary and the workshop participants.

“When Marrakesh is applied, it appears to be a dull, white plaster. It wasn’t until the next day when the polishing took place and we applied the black soap that the soft, undulated patina effect really brought the wall to life,” Tony explained.

The application of Lime Plaster Basecote on the exterior on Saturday saw everyone swapping jobs so all participants had a turn at mixing, applying and finishing. The exterior had been prepared in advance with two coats of site mix clay and the Lime Plaster Basecote was applied straight over the surface, tinted to a colour selected by Mary.

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Rosie McKay polishes the Marrakesh with a polishing stone on the second day of the workshop.

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2015 WORKSHOPS “The finish sought was a soft, smooth Japanese trowel finish,” explained Tony. “We started with a small section of wall about 5-6 metres but ended up completing about 20 metres because everyone was enjoying it so much.”

There was an enthusiastic response to Tony’s explanation of finishing the Venetian Plaster that was used on kitchen cupboards and drawers. The Venetian Plaster was used in its natural colour and polished with a Japanese trowel.

“During the application of the final coat using a very fine Japanese polishing trowel, you have to learn to feel what the trowel is doing, made easier by the trowel’s fine blade. You actually have to listen to the trowel and you will hear the pitch changing as the level of polish increases – from a scratchy, dragging sound to a smoother, even, softer noise. That’s what you need to listen for,” he explained.

Among the biggest highlights of the weekend were the communal meals including sushi made by one of the Mud & Straw team’s family members.

One workshop participant was so enthralled by the information presented on natural building systems that he went home on the Friday night and researched the negative impacts of modern buildings. The next day he shared his findings with the group and his surprise at the poor health outcomes of current building systems compared with those using natural building materials.

“Attending a Natural Materials workshop paves the way for applicators to become professional artisans, delivering superb finishes for a range of decorative and functional purposes using ROCKCOTE’s high quality materials. For many, it is a life changing experience, offering the opportunity to add value to their business as well as motivate them to make healthier choices in their own lives,” Tony said.

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“Better understanding of Venetian Plaster” – John Geltch, Kustom Finishes Naturally “Good insight into artisan options for natural and polished products” – Mike Geltch, Kustom Finishes Naturally “All polished finishes, unreal – love it!”

– Nathan Dunlop, MND Plastering and Rendering “Finding out how easy Otsumigaki was to use” – Michael Nolan, MDE Nolan “Discovering application techniques, processes and tips” – Mike Gorkin “Learning application techniques and meeting new people” – Garret Smith

UPCOMING NATURAL MATERIALS WORKSHOPS 2015 24-25 July ROCKCOTE Design Centre, Nerang 7-8 August Green Building Centre, Byron Bay 28-29 August ROCKCOTE Design Centre, Nerang 25-26 September ROCKCOTE Design Centre, Nerang For more information, visit www.rockcote.com.au/workshops The Natural Artisan

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