Before + After – A New Garden Studio For A Writer

March 1, 2024
A new garden studio for a writer that includes a green roof, sitting area, built-in shelving, and a bathroom.

MW Architects has shared photos of a new garden room in London, England, that replaced an old derelict wash house, that was in danger of slipping down a steep slope and existed at the back of an overgrown garden.

Here’s what it looked like originally.

BEFORE - A new garden studio for a writer that includes a green roof, sitting area, built-in shelving, and a bathroom.

The new studio, which has been designed for a writer, is partly built from bricks reclaimed from the old washhouse and garden walls, with a green roof helping to blend the building into the garden

A new garden studio for a writer that includes a green roof, sitting area, built-in shelving, and a bathroom.

The openings have been glazed with ‘crittall’ style doors and windows, with existing doors and windows at the rear of the property also replaced to match the studio creating a material continuity across the new courtyard.

A new garden studio for a writer that includes a green roof, sitting area, built-in shelving, and a bathroom.
A new garden studio for a writer that includes a green roof, sitting area, built-in shelving, and a bathroom.

The studio is divided into a reading room and a micro shower room visually connected to the courtyard garden, with a seating area at one end, and the bathroom at the other.

A new garden studio for a writer that includes a green roof, sitting area, built-in shelving, and a bathroom.

A skylight adds natural light to the space, while the electrical cabling runs through conduits which are set at a height where they can be used as a picture rail.

A new garden studio for a writer that includes a green roof, sitting area, built-in shelving, and a bathroom.

As space is at a premium the plywood partition separating the two spaces contains a Barbican sink and a series of shelves and compartments for printers and fold-down desks.

A new garden studio for a writer that includes a green roof, sitting area, built-in shelving, and a bathroom.

The joinery was built by a friend of the client who is a boat builder and is knowledgeable in creating clever storage solutions to make the most of limited space.

A new garden studio for a writer that includes a green roof, sitting area, built-in shelving, and a bathroom.

Here’s a look at the plans for the studio.

A new garden studio for a writer that includes a green roof, sitting area, built-in shelving, and a bathroom.
A new garden studio for a writer that includes a green roof, sitting area, built-in shelving, and a bathroom.
Photography by FRENCH+TYE