Drakefell Garden Studio

This charred timber clad garden studio in Brockley, London SE4 was designed for a Project Manager keen to embrace the work-from-home culture spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, utilising spaces efficiently and re-vitalising a section of the house garden that had remained unused and obsolete for many years. The orientation is ideal, with the back of the garden enjoying direct sunlight for most of the day even in winter.
The studio is very compact, encompassing a work area furnished with a work desk and a sofa bed and including a shower room at the rear. A rectangular rooflight ensures a very good distribution of natural light and a corner window offers direct and relaxing views back to the garden from the work station. The choice of natural materials, the front pergola and the sedum roof are all intended to blend sympathetically the new construction with the mature garden in a gentle, unassuming way avoiding loud gestures and inappropriate treatment.
The whole garden was redesigned around the new studio, rationalising the steep level changes, realigning the steps with the side return and providing distinct, flexible activity areas identified by carefully selected materials and textures.

“During drinks one evening I shared a fairly rudimentary sketch up model of a garden office with Veronica, fast forward through some very muddy build periods and we now have a beautiful home office with a shower and toilet. Veronica asked us during the design – what are you doing with the garden? BOOM! Bi-folding doors from kitchen into an extended patio area with built-in barbeque, more retaining walls that you can shake a stick at and a (much needed) amazing garden space now that actually feels bigger with the addition of the office.”
Steve