Dove and Tse

Projects / 04

Walled Garden Studio

A low L of charred timber at the end of a Georgian walled garden, holding a courtyard with a red Japanese maple.

Location
London
Type
Artist's studio
Fig. 01The studio from the house, across the raked gravel.

The place

The long walled garden behind a five-bay Georgian house in London: old red-brick walls, a York stone terrace at the house and a lane along the bottom.

The brief

A studio to paint in, away from the house but within sight of it: an even-lit work room, somewhere to sit and cook, and a garden to walk through on the way.

The design

One storey under one living roof, kept low so the house still owns the garden. The building is an L: a studio arm along the west wall ends in one large window looking back up the garden, and the living range turns along the rear wall. In the crook of the L, open to the garden, is a courtyard where a red Japanese maple grows in moss, seen from the studio's glass wall and from the living room's engawa. Charred larch outside; lime plaster and larch ceilings within.

From the house you see two things at the end of the garden: the studio's window, and the red of the maple.

Fig. 02Long section from the house to the lane, through the courtyard.

The studio from the garden

The studio arm and, in the crook of the L, the maple, at the end of the raked gravel.

Fig. 03The studio arm and the courtyard in the crook of the L.

The courtyard

From the path to the maple and the engawa; and from the studio, through its glass wall.

Fig. 04Into the courtyard: the maple and the engawa.
Fig. 05The studio, looking out to the courtyard.

Back to the house

From the courtyard edge, back across the garden to the Georgian house.

Fig. 06Back across the garden to the Georgian house.

Models

Card massing models: the L and its courtyard.

Fig. 07Massing model (rendered).
Fig. 08Model detail: the courtyard (rendered).

Drawings

Plans, elevations and details

Each plan sits beside a view of the spaces it shows; the drawing set follows, from the exploded axonometric to a 1:20 detail.

Fig. 09Ground floor plan.
Fig. 10The living room, out through the sliders to the maple and the moss courtyard.
Fig. 11Exploded axonometric: the L, the courtyard and the living roof.
Fig. 12Axonometric of the garden and studio.
Fig. 13Garden elevation of the studio.

Landscape

The garden, room by room

Between the house and the studio, a Japanese garden made for a London walled plot: a field of raked granite gravel with three moss islands and their stones, cloud-pruned pines, clipped azaleas, bamboo against the old walls, and a path of stepping stones that slows the walk to the studio. The path crosses a granite edge into the courtyard, past a stone basin to the door, with the red maple kept for the courtyard.

  1. 01

    Terrace

    York stone along the house.

  2. 02

    Gravel field

    Raked granite, lines parallel to the house, rings round the islands.

  3. 03

    Islands

    Moss, stones and cloud-pruned pines.

  4. 04

    Path

    Stepping stones into the courtyard and on to the door.

  5. 05

    Courtyard

    A red maple in moss, a stone basin and a lantern, with the engawa along one side.

Fig. 14Site and landscape plan.

Planting palette

  • Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood'Red Japanese maple in the courtyard
  • Acer palmatumGreen maples by the walls, red in autumn
  • Pinus sylvestrisCloud-pruned (niwaki) on the moss islands
  • Fargesia murielaeClump-forming bamboo against the old walls
  • Rhododendron (Kurume azalea)Clipped mounds round the islands
  • Hakonechloa macraSoft grass along the borders and at the courtyard's edge
  • Polytrichum and Leucobryum mossesThe islands and the courtyard floor
  • Sedum and wildflower mixThe living roof

Materials

  • Charred larchCladding, fascia and eave soffits
  • Siberian larchInterior ceilings
  • Lime plasterInterior walls
  • OakEngawa and joinery
  • Granite gravelThe raked garden
  • York stoneTerrace
  • Old red brickThe existing garden walls
Fig. 15Material samples.

Project

Project data

Location
London
Type
Artist's studio
Garden
c. 640 m²
GIA
c. 110 m²
Architectural design
Dove + Tse
Landscape
Dove + Tse
Structural engineer
TBC