Some of our favourite projects are the smallest. The Writing Room began with a client who was an actor and a keen surfer, and a garden in Greenwich with room for one modest building.
Three jobs in one
The brief asked a lot of a small footprint. It needed to be a peaceful retreat for writing, a home for surfboards, and a bike shed. We treated it as a puzzle of fitting everything in while keeping the writing space calm and uncluttered.
The writing room takes up most of the garden's width and wraps around an outdoor terrace that catches the morning sun. Efficient, cupboard-style storage for boards and bikes is tucked to the side and rear, out of sight.
A cabin in the woods
The client's inspiration was a cabin in the woods, and that idea shaped the exterior. We chose timber cladding for its warmth, and its form gives the building a sheltered, cabin-like character among the trees.
Recognition
The Writing Room was shortlisted for the Architects' Journal Small Projects Award in 2016. It shows that a small building, carefully considered, can change how someone uses their home every day.
Completed in 2015. Contractor: V Construction London Ltd. Structural engineer: Constant SD. Photography: Rory Gardiner.