It might seem a long way from the Sydney Opera House to the seafront at Ardrossan, but 15-year old Scott Mitchell doesn’t see it that way.

Scott is the winner of a competition to design a temporary beach hut to be sited on Ardrossan south beach this summer.

Organised by Irvine Bay Regeneration Company, North Ayrshire Council and St Matthew’s secondary school in Saltcoats, as part of the school’s Standard Grade Art and Design course, some 15 pupils entered the competition. Local architects McMillan Cronin worked with the pupils to develop scale drawings, which will be used to construct the winning design.

Robert Sheerins, the school’s principal teacher of art and design said: "Pupils were invited to come up with a design for a two-chamber beach hut that could be used as a holiday base for a small family or couple. Each pupil undertook a study of architecture as part of this design investigation, and also of architects for the written element of their course. Pupils were also asked to decide on a theme, or source of inspiration, for their design, essentially to give their creativity a platform."


Scott said: "My designs were derived from a range of influences including Celtic designs, the Sydney Opera House and structures taken from fishing boats. I am over the moon about winning the Irvine Bay competition and ecstatic about the whole process to come. I’m looking forward to working with many different people to help develop my designs and I just can’t wait to see the end result."

Scott’s hut will be installed for the month of August on the beach front at Ardrossan and will feature in the town’s ‘Big on the Beach’ festival where it will be used as a gallery and exhibition space. Local community groups will be offered use of the space to demonstrate their work and their objectives.

The project chimes in with plans for a series of ‘coastal beacons’ that will mark promontories and landmarks along the 14-mile arc of Irvine Bay, some of which will be permanent and others temporary.

School pupils will be involved in the construction of the winning hut, which, after the festival, will be used at Irvine’s Maritime Museum. Despite its temporary nature, the project’s partners are keen to ensure that the initiative should continue.

(GK)