Jon Crooke Design Studio
The studio is passionate about designing refined, elegant and exciting products, at affordable prices.
About
The Studio's principal designer - Jon Crooke - works primarily in the areas of architecture and automotive design.
The Studio's architectural projects focus on solar green energy and earth sheltered homes. Automotive projects encompass racing cars, racing car simulators and custom motorcycle design. The Studio has also ventured into board game design with a 21st century take on the game of chess and with a 'public space' feature where the playing pieces never go AWOL.
As an 'imagineer', Jon has produced many firsts including, in 1979, the first green energy 'project' homes in Australia, and in 1991, the world's first racing car simulators. These two concepts have spawned massive industries both in Australia and, in the case of the simulators, worldwide.
Architecture
Jon Crooke is a pioneer of 'green' residential architecture and the Tiny House movement. In 1979, his Design Studio built the first green energy ‘project homes’ in Australia, the Big and Little Solar Houses range of kit and project homes.
By the mid 80‘s the company was one of the biggest kit home suppliers in the country. Two of the Studio's designs, the ‘Kinglake’ in Victoria and the ‘Cherrybrook’ in NSW, won the industries top solar design awards. The Studio’s projects have won numerous other awards and have been featured in books, periodicals and other media, highlighting Jon's pioneering work in green architecture.
Over the 40 years of designing affordable green dwellings, the Studio has explored ways to reduce the tremendous impacts that buildings have on the environment, and ways to live that are sustainable in the long term. The House Company's Towable Studio, Core House and Bespoke Post and Beam Earth Sheltered homes, are defining products of that research.
Automotive
The Automotive division was established by Jon, after a life long involvement in motor racing as a driver, which including winning the Australian Formula 2 Championship and driving for the Holden Dealer Team with Peter Brock.
After retiring from driving professionally, Jon was keen to explore more affordable types of motorsport. He saw a market for racing car simulators that would provide a real virtual driving experience at very little cost compared to real world car racing. Working with pioneer software writers in the late 80's and early 90's, he developed the worlds first racing car simulator driving cockpits and in 1999 the world's first SimRacing (eRacing or eSport) centres. 30 years later his Hyper Stimulator cockpit designs are still sold worldwide and used by the world's top real world drivers, while hundreds of manufactures including the top Formula One teams have followed his lead and produce siblings of his original designs.
Currently, Jon is joined by his son, Dean, in the design and development of the Hyper Racer range of racing cars. The current product line-up includes two tarmac track cars and an off-road race car. These vehicles have been described as "game changers", and provide the driver with performance levels previously unheard of, at an affordable price.
Custom Motorcycle
A classic Moto Guzzi, and cafe racer concepts, are the basis of this unique custom motorcycle. The 'LIL GUZ' Moto Guzzi is exclusively re-birthed, simplified, re-designed and hand crafted, to create a pure riding machine.
Body by Jon Crooke • Sole by Giulio Cesare Carcano, Lino Tonti & Dr John Wittner
Board Game
Our Corporate Public Space Chess Sets are a World Exclusive Design Innovation. Your Soldiers never go AWOL.These chess sets feature playing pieces that move via a matrix of slots that permanently tether the pieces to the board. This means, that for the first time in history, chess sets can be deployed in public spaces, without the loss of playing pieces.
Our Chess 2100 chess sets also feature a new chess game called Great Chess, Designed by Jon Crooke, this is a fast, action packed variant of the classic game of Western Chess, with a myriad of new tactical possibilities. Great Chess is played by two people on a 10 x 10 square board. The game incorporates all the traditional Western Chess pieces and moves, but also includes the addition of new leapers - "Champions" and "Assassins".