A Studio Built Around a Cherry Tree

A self-build separate living space and studio/workshop under a mature cherry tree fills the end of a garden of a terraced house. The studio was constructed on micro- piles and reclaimed railway sleepers to raise the floor above the roots of the cherry tree. Modular timber insulated panels, pre-clad in a corduroy pattern of cedar strips, were fabricated on the floor platform and lifted into position by hand. The tree has its own tiny courtyard within the studio’s footprint and the coppery trunk is visible through a side window. A timber roof structure with a sedum roof was carefully built below the branches of the cherry tree. Rainwater drains off the roof into concealed pipes and is redistributed under the studio to irrigate the cherry tree. The branches of the tree overhang the sliding doors and provide shade in the summer.

2016 - 2018, for a private client.