Our client - a musician and composer - approached us to design a south facing garden studio for his work, integrated into the existing landscape. The music studio needed to have high acoustic separation within a seemly simple and unobtrusive structure.

Due to the unique function of the space, the planning authority required a lot of reassurances about the building’s use. Two pre-applications and two lawful development certificate applications later we got the go-ahead.  The building is conceived as two masses; a larger acoustically protected room that incorporates a partial basement, and a smaller space used for access and storage. Both volumes are submerged in the sloping terrain of the site. The acoustic requirements of the project were incredibly important and drove many aspects of the design including choice of construction materials; high-density concrete blocks, and a concrete roof slab are used for their acoustic insulation properties. The building incorporates two layers of insulation - acoustic and thermal. The acoustic wraps the internal of the structure with the thermal wrapping around the structure externally, working in tandem with the basement waterproofing.

Externally, to mitigate the potential for overheating with the south facing aspect, the design integrates an overhang providing shade from direct sunlight. This is constructed as a secondary envelope to minimise interference with the acoustic performance. A lightweight timber rainscreen supports the overhang structure - providing an enclosure for services including HVAC unit and rainwater storage, whilst creating a sensitive interface with the garden.  

By minimising the complexity of the studio and reducing the volume of space with high acoustic specification, we were able to deliver a contemporary,high-performance music studio, prioritising our client’s budget to where it counted the most.