A Potter's Studio

The pottery studio is situated in the rear garden of a detached single-family Victorian house located within the Mapesbury Conservation Area, North West London. It replaces an existing garden studio on the same site. The new studio, designed for the client potter, relocates the messy activities of working with clay from the house’s attic to the dedicated structure nestled in the ground beneath the tree canopy of the rear garden.

The design is a contemporary interpretation of the traditional garden studio, re-worked to create a distinctive, high-quality yet sensitive building that sits comfortably in its surroundings. The building is sunken into the ground by 60cm, allowing for a generous internal height while conforming to the strict planning constraints of the conservation area. The shallow gabled building form fronts the rear garden, sculpted to generate south-facing openings that play with daylight and visually connect the potter’s activities with the garden and house. The oversailing roof defines an intimate forecourt at the entrance for working outside. A visual connection to the trees and sky is created with a playful circular skylight punched through the roof, bringing additional light into the space.

The superstructure is made up of a simple sawn timber frame, lined internally with construction grade spruce plywood and a simple system of fitted joinery. Plywood shelves on dowelled brackets can be moved about the studio for working, drying and storing pieces. Externally, the building is uniformly clad with a dark stained Larch rainscreen that helps it to recede into its surroundings.

Although familiar in material the asymmetrical design and black stained treatment create a gentle contemporary interpretation of the pitched garden room.