A new artist studio for a sculptor and a printmaker nestled along a small industrial mews in New Cross, London. An 18th century wash-house once sat on the site, long since demolished.

The two volumes represent the opposing scales of the artist's work, the industrial and the domestic. The tiled volume houses the smaller working areas as well as the kitchen and bathroom. The larger volume contains the large working area.

Externally this presents itself as two separate studios. Internally, the two volumes are unified with the same material palette.

To maximise space with a limited budget the studio uses a combination of 'off the shelf' materials and materials the clients had accumulated from their practice. CAN looked to use these materials in such a way that elevated them from the ordinary to the ornamental, a common theme in CAN’s recent work.

The gabled forms take their cue from the generic industrial shed and the 18th century wash-house once located on the site. The tiled gables are ornamented with a double crow step. The volumes are off-set to create an external working area at the rear which also brings southern light into the kitchen through a set of double doors. Rooflights are arranged on the north facing pitches to bring diffused light into the studio.

Awards

The project was awarded an RIBA London Regional Award 2019 and was a finalist in the Architect's Journal Small Project Awards 2019.

What was the brief?

Too design a double artist studio for a sculptor and printmaker who had very different working requirements.

What were the key challenges?

Providing a large enough studio with a limited budget.

What were the solutions?

To maximise space with a limited budget the studio uses a combination of 'off the shelf' materials and materials the clients had accumulated from their practice. CAN looked to use these materials in such a way that elevated them from the ordinary to the ornamental.