Is The Smart Solution
Clever Design Founder and Principal Mike In 1994, when he launched his business, “alternative”. That’s because his houses by using renewable energy sources, such 75 JULY/AUGUST 2014 « The Australian Business Journal Clever Design Smart Solution Mike Cleaver designs projects by pushing innovative boundaries. business, he said his building designs would have been considered houses reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions they emit such as the sun.
TODAY, IN A world concerned with global climate change, Cleaver’s residential and commercial designs have won 74 design awards in both national and state awards. Clever Design has become nationally recognised in Australia for residential sustainable living. With each new design, the benchmark continues to increase and the projects become more innovative.
The Australian Business Journal spoke with Mike Cleaver about his incredibly successful business including some of his recent recognised designs and the unique challenges that are associated with building creative, yet practical and sustainable residential and commercial buildings.
Cleaver’s career spans three decades in designing and building residential and commercial buildings.When elaborating about his work, he says that while each design pushes the boundaries of what can be achieved with sustainable houses, the homes are always 100 per cent buildable, which is the practice’s core value.
“We’re a cutting edge, contemporary sustainable design practice,” says Cleaver, who has also had extensive teaching experience in Building Design at the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Institute of Tasmania. He further said that this experience has provided him with an invaluable depth of knowledge for delivering creative, dynamic and pragmatic building design outcomes.
In 2012, Cleaver published a book called Sustainable Clever Design, an inspirational publication that features 224 pages of stunning photography spanning 17 different projects, informative design narratives, cross sections, elevations and three-dimensional renders. The book contains his trade “secrets,” that he wanted to share with his colleagues and the general public, he says.
Projects
Winner of the recent HIA-CSR Australian Home of the Year 2013 Award, Clever Design’s “Rumney Rest” project reveals the practice’s unique ability to consider every element in a building’s design in an often rugged Australian landscape. The site is situated 320 metres above sea level and is shared with a wedge tail eagle’s nest. This and other factors made zoning requirements entail minimal disturbance to the lot. Cleaver says the lot was quite challenging because it was extremely steep, rocky and needed to be built to deflect prevailing southwest winds. Given his expertise and years of experience, Cleaver designed a home situated comfortably and sustainably in the rather harsh terrain harnessing the natural contours and land forms.
High performance and energy efficient aluminium windows and door systems have been utilised throughout the “Rumney Rest” home. Cleaver specified Architectural Window Systems (AWS) Australia, the largest group in the development and supply of high performance and energy efficient aluminium window and door systems in Australia. AWS introduced the Vantage Aluminium Joinery brand, which is the preferred choice among Architects and Building Designers with innovative performance and design features. With up to 40 per cent of a home’s energy views because it lies on a steeply sloping site,” he says. The project also won the most innovative use of steel award. Steel was used to mould the spine and form of the building, while tensioned stainless steel rods function to brace the massive cantilevered steel frame.
In terms of commercial design, Cleaver refers to the Leonardoz restaurant project. In this instance, the client was seeking to convert an existing building into a landmark restaurant that would attract a wide range of clientele.
The brief was to use an existing 1950s dilapidated motorcycle shop and convert it into a restaurant, wine bar and take-away dining services. An additional alfresco building was also required to be designed in the front yard of the adjacent building. It was also imperative that the building had a “wow” factor, essentially creating a new visual brand to attract clientele and be “the place to be seen” in restaurant dining.
Cleaver says the client was “absolutely thrilled” with the restaurant. “He’s virtually done minimal advertising yet the client has attracted a thriving business,” The restaurant also won the 2012 Award of Excellence in Building Design from the Building Designer’s Association of Tasmania (BDAT).
“Overall, I view my work as ‘no fixed style’ or categorised into a specific era,” Cleaver states. “I believe the Clever Design signature is the ability to creatively use and work with light. I’m always looking at the ways I can use and borrow light. It is also about working creatively with space and most importantly solar energy to encapsulate the Australian lifestyle.”
Other Sustainable Factors
Clever Design installs products in its projects from some of Australia’s leading providers in energy-efficient products. Apricus Australia, for example, is the nation’s leading evacuated tube solar hot water supplier. Evacuated tube solar collectors are quickly becoming the preferred option for residential, business and commercial hot water, because they are efficient, lightweight and involve low maintenance construction.
The evacuated tube solar collector captures the sun’s light and heat energy. A circulator pushes the water through the solar collector and transfers the captured heat into the stored water cylinder.
Another example, Lights ‘n’ Lamps provides the sustainable professionalism that Clever Design seeks in its projects. Lights ‘n’ Lamps designs and sources the appropriate lighting requirements to match a client’s specific needs as well as including the most energy-efficient fittings. Improved lighting saves money by reducing energy and ongoing operating and maintenance costs. Professional lighting can help households and businesses reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 75 per cent.
Innovations
Some innovative platforms Clever Design has utilised over the years include the use of Building Information Technology (BIM). Cleaver produces a digital representation of his designs utilising Graphicsoft’s ArchiCAD’s BIMx technology, which allows potential clients and all parties to build the process to “walk through” the projects in realtime 3D, facilitating the “ultimate understanding” of the project.
Another innovation Cleaver proudly mentions is the Clever Eco Series. These eco-homes incorporate a central roof pitch to provide winter solar gain for solar hot water and photovoltaic solar panels. The homes are designed with high levels of internal thermal mass and insulation, high performance double glazing, cross ventilation, and concealed efficient lighting and recycled grey water.
The Future
Cleaver’s next project is designing a home for a client who is also an experienced builder. In keeping with his ethos, this design will push all the boundaries in terms of innovation. The home will be built on what he describes as “the best lot of land in Hobart.”
Of course, the lot has its unique challenges, but Cleaver says he’s already strategically analysing clever solutions.
“My last design is always my best,” he says. “I look at each new project as a challenge seeking creative solutions that not only exceed the aspirations of our clients but also providing new ways of seeing and inhabiting our contemporary environ.”
