SalemNews.com, Salem, MA

News

With eye for detail, young architects excel

By Mike Stucka
Staff Writer
Published: May 29, 2009

BOXFORD — Wednesday, three of the area's budding architects were sure they had designed the perfect getaway home for the Jonas Brothers.

"I think they'll choose my house," said Heather Mavin, a Masconomet High freshman who fit two recording studios, a game room and an indoor pool into her design. She even carefully noted the middle names of the family's young singers, as well as the name of their dog.

That kind of attention to detail has helped drive good grades in Masco's architecture fair, which has been running for the better part of a decade. This week, 72 of the best entries were shown to local architects, engineers and teachers, who had to determine which floor plan would work best for the Jonas Brothers, or which home had the best renderings. Students had been working on the projects since January, and the projects serve as the final exam in geometry classes.

Nathan Klein of Boxford found himself apologizing to a judge for his attention to detail.

"The only problem is I included every measurement possible, so it's hard to see each doorway," he said, pointing at architectural drawings that outlined rotating chairs, several roof lines and other complexities. Klein reprogrammed his calculator so he could more easily determine how much siding his home would take. He went through four drafts until he came up with a neo-Mediterranean design for a Miami vacation home. The new home features plenty of 45-degree angles inside, and rooms that push past a square envelope.

"I'm not a big fan of squares," the 14-year-old said.

Tom Beard, an Ipswich architect who has judged entries for years, said he enjoys seeing the variety.

"There's a terrific range of projects, some that do stronger on design, some that are stronger on implementation," he said.

And the vacation homes were as varied as the settings: Nantucket, Maine, Barcelona, North Carolina, Austria, Alaska, London.

Sidney Fisher, a 14-year-old from Topsfield, drew inspiration from the "Twilight" books to design a home for the fictional Esme Isle off the coast of Brazil. She'd never designed a home but found her adventure to her liking.

"I'm a performing arts person, but I wouldn't mind doing something like this," she said.

Other students drew from experience. Topsfield freshman Rachel Rudolph said she knew the main entrance to a beach house had to be through a sunroom, so sand stayed behind. She picked out scraps of drapes, wood samples and paint chips for the home.

"I thought it was cool that we got to design our own home," she said.

Claiming first place were Anastas Varinos, Chelsea Nason and Chris Turner. Taking second place were Doug Rothman, Morgan Mellinger and Catherine McGee. Coming in third were Mackenzie Shelgren, Kendall Pratt and Sarah Levenson. Drawing honorable mentions were Allison August, Hannah Elliot-Higgins, Caroline Nentwig, Rachel Rudolph, Shannon Gentile and Heather Mavin.

Photos