Drawing Room Architecture was approached by a family who were looking for a studio for their backyard.
They had a double garage that wasn’t being used, so they wanted to use this 54m2 footprint for the studio.
It would be used for friends and family to stay for short or longer periods of time.
In the meantime, the space would be used for textile making and shiatsu sessions run by the clients.
The clients wanted an open main space with a smaller nook space that delivered a sense of spaciousness activated by abundant natural light.
Fresh air and views to the garden on the current garage footprint, heaps of storage, a laundry, and a bathroom were must-haves as were water tanks for the studio, laundry, and garden water use.
Drawing Room Architecture’s design response wanted the studio to sit in harmony in its backyard context, so rough-sawn timber was used as an external cladding.
Formally, the DRA team went with a simple pitched roof so the studio was easy to ‘read’.
The form is almost agricultural in shape
Internally, DRA were working with essentially one large room.
They wanted to break up the volume with texture, shadow, and lineal elements, opting for exposed rafters and walls clad with lining boards.
The cladding is rescue macrocarpa cladding from Ceres Fairwood. Timber framed doors where used for their beauty and thermal properties (over aluminium). And splash back tiles were re-used from an earlier job.
DRA wanted light to flood the room(s) so they kept the colour palette minimal; white and timber.
They kept the room(s) spacious by following the roof pitch above creating a tall sloping ceiling internally.
The DRA design created views to the garden with two large timber sliding doors opening to the garden and to a smaller private paved courtyard.
The design carved out a smaller lineal window above the bench so those using the studio would be able to look out over the garden, but also felt they were in a visual private space.
Sustainable design elements were incorporated throughout.
The roof captures maximum rainwater leading to two water tanks for re-use.
And the studio doesn’t use gas or have a gas connection.
It’s fully electric with split systems, electric hot-water, and an induction cooktop.
High level windows are mechanically operable to work as a heat stack, letting heat out in the warmer months. And the west facing entry has a covered awning to shade the western side window.
The only other western window is a small bathroom window. Skylights light internal areas so lights can stay off during the day.
The garage footprint had a concrete slab which couldn’t be re-used as it wasn’t load bearing.
So DRA proposed the option of moving the footprint to another location.
But the rest of the garden was well-established so that option was abandoned.
The existing footprint sits along the northern boundary lined fully by a neighbouring building.
That meant the design could not accommodate any north-facing windows, which is where day-long sunlight comes from, as the northern wall needed to be fire-rated.
The design solution was to draw in daylight from higher level windows set well back from the north, along with windows to the east.
It isn’t ideal to have western windows so they were kept to a minimum. And the southern windows were double glazed with well-insulated walls and roof to create a well-sealed envelope.
Project Details
Building Area – 60 m2
Site Area – 600 m2
Project Budget – $399,000
Completion Date – 2021
Building Levels – 1
Project Team
Architecture
Drawing Room Architecture
Founder, Nicola Dovey, has over ten years’ experience working at many scales and across many programs, from universities and stadiums to schools, community centres, apartment buildings, museums, houses, restaurants, shops and offices, winning awards along the way.
www.drawingroomarchitecture.com.au
Structural Engineering
Structural Bureau
Structural Bureau is an independent Melbourne based consulting engineering practice, specialising in the provision of structural and civil engineering design services throughout Australia.
Construction
DC Building
DC Building is a construction company specialising in architectural projects across the Melbourne Metropolitan Region.
Since 2015 they have been delivering architectural projects and custom builds to the highest quality with a priority on producing the intended design.
The Builtworks Quest
At Builtworks, we’re on a multi-year quest to document, showcase, and spotlight the best of Australia’s built environment.
That’s why we’re creating this comprehensive online archive and educational resource that showcases a diverse and eclectic range of project types and scales.
Together with showcasing older exemplars of enduring merit, we spotlight and celebrate the very best new and recent additions to Australia’s built environment.