Budding teenage architect scoops competition top prize
A BUDDING teenage architect inspired by his Lego set has scooped the top prize in a competition to find the house of the future run by one of Wales’ leading eco homes companies.
The team at Pembrokeshire-based Western Solar Ltd – the company behind the popular Ty Solar eco home – were impressed by Finn Maxwell’s well thought out ‘Jigsaw House’.
Finn’s innovative plan features a wooden sustainable house that can be put together easily and generate all its own energy.
Finn, 13, is a pupil at Queen Elizabeth High School in Johnstown, Carmarthen and believes his scheme has all the ingredients to provide a low cost answer housing shortage.
The computerdesigned wooden house – which is built on stilts to cope with flooding risk – includes solar panels and is constructed entirely of sustainable materials. to the
Finn said: “I called it the Jigsaw House because it fits together like a jigsaw,” adding he was inspired by looking at Lego as well as the design of fishing villages in Thailand.
“This is an affordable, sustainable and environmentally friendly house that looks at creating a low cost home for first time buyers,” he added.
Western Solar chief executive Glen Peters said Finn’s proposals fitted the brief of ‘house of the future’ perfectly.
“Finn will join a new generation of environmentally aware young people who will shape the future of the way we live,” he said.
Finn wins the top prize of £1,000 in the competition.