A fascination for the design of small spaces and the lack of a dedicated home office & music studio space led to the creation of the ‘Garden Shed’. This was a simple standalone structure at the foot of a small family garden, completed alongside the day to day trials of more formal architectural learning.

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Whilst only a miniscule scheme, the build was set up with certain intentional parameters and limitations that assisted in making the process challenging and rewarding. From concept to detailed design, it was vital to work with standard format sheeting and timber sizes, with an aim to minimise waste and cutting of materials on site.

Secondly, cost control was absolutely vital even on such a small project, with budget extremely tight. From the outset, as many of the building materials - the structural marine ply sheathing, internal acoustic & thermal insulation, structural joists along with the large 2.4x2.2m window - were acquired from used sources. In this way, the raw material expense was minimised which together with hands on labour kept the budget very tight.

The outer face of the shed was wrapped with oversized marine ply shingles, with the use of exposed OSB boarding internally within the space providing an understated, utilitarian aesthetic. The single largest cost was incurred through the installation of a dedicated electrical supply & lighting within the space.