The brief was to create a workout studio in the rear garden of our client’s house as there was no gym in the local area of Walthamstow Village. Our response was to design a contemporary interpretation of a garden ‘shed’ that we now call the Garden Studio Gym. Our restrictions were quite demanding, as we had to work on the permitted development regulations and a small footprint within the garden. The permitted development only allows a certain roof height. To get around this we lowered the ground floor as there is no local or national policy on digging down –now we have plenty of height for skipping and jumping. The form of the gym was to be abstracted so it would represent a modern twist of the traditional garden shed.
For the construction the limited budget meant using a concrete base and timber frame with modular materials. We kept a simple palette of 4 materials externally and internally. The Garden Studio Gym is covered by burnt cedar timber cladding and has an opening on the right side to let the natural daylight in. The window also connects the interior space to the garden steps up from inside the Garden Studio Gym. The glass return lifts the corner of the garden studio gym making the form less imposing in appearance. A frameless full height mirror cover the main wall as it extends the scene for workout sessions. The studio walls are covered by staggered panels of birch ply and complemented by a black rubber floor. The birch ply creates a warm atmosphere which is enhanced with yellow lights to achieve a warm interior glow against the dark exterior to get you motivated to cross the garden not only on an early winter’s morning. We also focus on final details of the project such as the discreet door lintel and the hidden connection for the punch bag.