George Scott, Pursuit (Student Awards 2018)

The following is my design statement for my piece which I submitted according to the design brief of supersonic, in the subject, UTAS Object Design. Huon Pine and Brass Height, 275mm. Length, 530mm. Width, 150mm. In response to the design brief of “Supersonic”, I looked towards the things in our world that have been achieving, or pursuing, supersonic speed for far longer than many people will ever be able to imagine. This meant looking towards history, searching for people who had been pursuing supersonic speed. The word supersonic was first recorded in the early 1900s but the idea of travelling at a speed greater than that of the speed of sound has been greatly investigated and researched by early scientists, researchers and philosophers, all of which were in pursuit of supersonic speed. From here I was able to delve into the science of supersonic, discovering aerodynamic and hydrodynamic shapes all of which contribute to travelling at a speed greater than that of sound, in which I found there are a multitude of different ways to achieve supersonic speed. I also discovered similarities between many of the most streamlined, aerodynamic and hydrodynamic shapes and animals. It occurred to me that these animals had been evolving for millions of years, all in pursuit of body shapes that would allow them to travel at an efficient rate. These animals, such as birds, fish and particularly whales, simply didn’t have the means to travel at such speed, although their body shapes certainly would have allowed them too. From here I was able to look at many design movements, and certain designers who I felt used techniques which fitted with my concept and my understanding of the brief, supersonic. From here I was able to evolve these thoughts and ideas and create a piece that looks as though it is moving. This piece is in pursuit of supersonic speed. Unfortunately, it is not capable of doing so, it does however, output a source which is even greater than the speed of sound, the speed of light. Year 11, The Hutchins School, Tas. Teacher: Patrick Twyford

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.