Garden Studio by Architectural Office Michael Dillon
Building a garden room is a great way of creating a separate space away from the main house for range of activities that require privacy or contemplation.
Here, we round up twenty inspirational architect garden buildings built in the UK, ranging from a cork-clad home office in north London to a polycarbonate DIY workshop in Norwich, East Anglia.
Fabricated off site, this COR-TEN steel-clad plywood structure is a space for the owner to work, read and make rugs. The building is dual aspect with fully glazed ends and built-in open shelving running down the side walls. A built-in desk faces the house and acts as a structural brace.
Rug Room by Nic Howett Architect - Photo by Nic Howett
A study and spare room complete with shower room and kitchenette to a garden flat in south east London. The building has an exposed cast concrete base with ply storage and a small wood burning stove inserted within. The upper parts of the building a reformed by a lightweight timber frame. The ceiling beams are made from the timber used to cast the concrete. Book shelves are installed at high level around the openings of the roof lights.
Garden Library by Turner Architects - Photo by Adam Scott
A low-carbon, self-build garden studio built under permitted development on a modest budget from natural and recycled materials to provide a workspace for Dillon. The roof is formed in corrugated metal sheeting. The walls are clad in blue-oiled Douglas fir boards and cover battens, insulated with hemp and lined internally with ESB, a wood fibre board.
Garden Studio by Architectural Office Michael Dillon
Inspired by the eighteenth century Dunmore Pineapple Pavilion in Scotland and an artichoke, this octagonal-shaped garden room, clad in green shingles, is used as study, lounge and bedroom. The building is constructed from CNC-cut timber parts and took just 20 days to erect. An exposed lattice-like timber frame structure converges to a small rooflight in the centre of the roof.
A Room in the Garden by Ben Allen Studio - Photo by Ben Tynegate
Nestled at the end of a garden, close to a railway line, this garden room in London was built as a place for work and relaxation. The entire exterior is lined in hot rolled steel, left to rust naturally. A projecting window faces the garden and doubles up as seating. The voluminous interior is super insulated for sound and thermal protection and lined in smooth plywood to contrast the rough exterior.
Brexit Bunker by Rise Design Studio - Photo by Edmund Sumner
This Japanese teahouse inspired garden room was built as a quiet space for home working. The building consists of a cast concrete base, which forms the walls up to windowsill height, and a timber frame on top. Externally, the concrete is left exposed. Black-stained larch boards clad the frame. The interior is lined with black-stained timber at low level and untreated plywood panels above. A concrete desk and hearth for a wood burning stove runs down one side wall.
Garden Studio by Eckford Chong
An angular modular garden building by Koto Design. Constructed from prefabricated CLT panels, the building is clad in burnt larch, and lined internally with birch plywood. A large format window covers one façade and provides expansive views out and high levels of natural light within.
Work Space Cabin by Koto Design - Photo by Edvinas Bruzas
Built around a mature silver birch tree, this garden building in north London is designed to be used as a painting studio. The building is clad in western red cedar and finished internally with a polished concrete floor and birch plywood panelling. The cladding profile is designed so the building will fade into the sky as it naturally weathers to a silver grey colour.
Nestle Studio by Mustard Architects - Photo by Tim Crocker
One of two timber garden buildings in Cambridge by Ben Davidson. One functions as a home office, the other a model making workshop. This home office is clad entirely in black-stained softwood boards, acting as a rainscreen cladding, and has a waterproof rubber membrane underneath. The windows are unwanted Velfac units donated free by a builder.
Garden Studio by Rodic Davidson Architects - Photo by Ben Davidson
Clad in marble and finished internally with birch plywood and yellow Valchromat MDF, this garden room by Alexander Owen Architecture is used as a home office and a place to entertain guests.
Garden Room by Alexander Owen Architecture - Photo by French+Tye
This timber frame and glass garden studio is built in the garden of a Victorian villa in Edinburgh for a glass writer by WT Architecture. A built in desk looks out onto the garden while a raised brick plinth provides seating and a base for a small wood burner.
Writer's Studio by WT Architecture - Photo by Dapple photography
A once derelict garage in Norwich, East Anglia has been renovated and extended by architecture practice McCloy + Muchemwa as a place for DIY projects and gardening. The existing structure was repaired and re-clad in corrugated black metal sheets. The greenhouse extension consists of a timber frame painted bright orange and transparent polycarbonate cladding.
Greenhouse extension by McCloy + Muchemwa - Photo by Simon Kennedy
Built in just 21 days, this garden studio in London by architectural designer Richard John Andrews houses his own small architecture practice. The black corrugated external cladding is contrasted internally with pale birch plywood.
The Light Shed by Richard John Andrews - Photo by Chris Snook
A pair of art studios in Aldeburgh, Suffolk by Soup Architects. The buildings are comprised of a steel frame clad in fibre cement panels. Large, glazed units at the ends and several rooflights flood the interior with natural light. One studio is positioned to frame views of mature oak and sycamore trees. The other overlooks a pond. The roofs divert rainwater to the pond and a rainwater harvesting system.
Art Studios by Soup Architects - Photo by Peter Cook
Built on a very tight budget, this 18 square metre garden room provides a generous workspace for a ceramicist in in east London. Clad both internally and externally in off-cuts of external grade plywood, the building’s footprint is designed to manoeuvre around an old apple tree and reveal the full extent of the garden beyond. A polished concrete floor offers a hard wearing floor finish, while a small wood burning stove heats the space.
The Pottery Shed by Grey Griffiths Architects - Photo by Adam Scott
Inspired by a trip to Mexico, this green terrazzo garden building by Tim Robinson of architecture studio Sonn comprises of two rooms – one functions as a home office and the other a workshop. The building is approached by a light grey microcement and white gravel pathway which winds through tropical planting. A black-stained cork desk spans the width of one side wall. Concealed in an adjacent wall is a fold-down bed which transforms the space into a guest bedroom.
Terazzo Studio by Sonn Studio - Photo by Sarah Burton
This curved garden building overhanging a lake in the Hampshire countryside by architecture firm TDO is both a place for meditation and children’s play den. The sides are clad in copper while a large glass window overlooks the water. One exterior wall is coated with blackboard paint to encourage the children to draw onto the building. A step within the interior provides a place to sit and contemplate.
The Forest Pond House by TDO - Photo by Ben Blossom
Built as a home gym, this charred-cedar clad garden building in Walthamstow, east London was conceived by Eastwest Architecture. The floor level is sunken into the garden to adhere to strict planning rules. A large frameless glass corner window frames a view of the garden. The interior is lined with birch plywood with the exception of one wall which is fully mirrored. A large punchbag is suspended from the ceiling between two rooflights which draw in lots of natural light.
Garden Gym by Eastwest Architecture - Photo by Naaro
A low-budget garden office designed by Office Sian. The timber frame is made from readily available timber and exposed internally with open shelving in between. Oak framed folding doors open up the entire interior to the garden. A strip roof light, spanning the full width of the building, introduces natural light to the rear.
Hackney Shed by Office Sian
Architecture firm Surmon Weston have created this cork-clad garden workspace for a musician and seamstress couple in north London. The building is accessed via an oak-framed pocket sliding door which reveals a pale plywood interior, complete with built-in twin desks and shelving. A small slot window between the desks offers a view to the rear, while a large rooflight floods natural light into the space. On top is a wild flower sedum roof which visually blends the building into the garden when viewed from above.
Cork Study by Surmon Weston - Photo by Wai Ming Ng
About the author: Aron Coates is an architect with over two decades of experience, encompassing projects ranging from the restoration of historic buildings to the design of contemporary homes.
The information provided in this article is intended for general guidance and educational purposes only. At Designs in Detail, we advise you appoint a skilled residential architect to provide specific expert advice for your project.
