Writers Studio

The original building was a typical Victorian 3/4 span of whit
ainted timber and fish-scale glass panes sitting on low brick walls. It nestled along the boundary wall in a secluded garden of the Victorian villa. The ambition for the building was to combine the utilitarian nature of a glass house with detailed craftsmanship, creating an inspirational timber and glass structure, which embraces being outside in the garden landscape.

The design revolves around the principal component of a writers desk, which sits on the old low glasshouse wall to make it deeper and more generous, and increase the volume of the building without increasing the footprint or having to build new foundations. The overhanging desk forms a cantilever, which supports the uprights of the new glazed canopy. A plinth for the stove provides an alternative place to sit away from the desk.

As a space for a couple who are both writers, it is expected to be largely free of clutter so each can occupy it afresh each time. The form echoes the original glasshouse lean-to profile, adding height and width while the original masonry walls are preserved. The portal frames are formed from sandwiched Douglas fir timbers with steel plates at the crank points. The repeated, bays honestly communicate their engineering with exposed fixing bolts.

This is not a home office for surrounding the user with all the accoutrements and comforts of the home, but providing a simple and clean shelter away from such clutter, allowing the writers to reset their mindset in a distinctly different environment to their home.

Annual CO2 data was not provided