Many garden studio companies would have turned down this Tunbridge Wells project; they would have considered the site unsuitable for their buildings. Kent-based Ark Design Build take a different approach, looking at each project on its own merits.
Ark Design Build's clients have a terraced garden and wanted to add a garden studio 5.5m x 3.5m. This was bigger than the depth of the terrace, so it needed to span multiple terrace levels.
Garden studio built on terraced ground
Many garden studio companies would have turned down this Tunbridge Wells project; they would have considered the site unsuitable for their buildings. Kent-based Ark Design Build take a different approach, looking at each project on its own merits.
Ark Design Build's clients have a terraced garden and wanted to add a garden studio 5.5m x 3.5m. This was bigger than the depth of the terrace, so it needed to span multiple terrace levels.
Experienced hands for a tricky site
The Ark Design Build team are experienced hands and will have calculated the foundation requirements for the building on each terrace level. With the studio being accessed via doors leading off the top terrace, they will have used different height groundscrews to create a level base to build off. They then hid the foundation with neatly detailed exterior cladding.
The studio has an unusual arrangement of windows, but we can see why they have been positioned where they have, focusing views down into the lawned area of the garden. The tall fixed windows have been mixed with a smaller opening window.
Low maintenance Thermowood cladding
The anthracite grey door and window frames look smart mixed with the Thermowood cladding. Thermowood is a low-maintenance cladding choice for a garden studio. It is a Redwood timber that is subjected to high temperatures, which changes the structure of the fibres making it highly durable against rot and fungal attack. Thermowood has a honey brown colour when new, but over the years will naturally weather to a silvery grey as it ages. This colour change does not affect the durability of the wood.
Topped off with a sedum roof covering
Ark Design Build have finished the studio with a sedum roof. People often don't think about what the building will look like when viewed from above. This is particularly important in situations like this where the garden steps down from the house, and the roof will therefore be clearly visible from the house.
Sedum roof coverings offer colour and interest all year round, and they require very little maintenance to stay looking good.
Ark Design Build focus their work in Kent, Sussex and London. To learn more about this project, call the team on 07896 196 718 or email them: contact@arkdesignbuild.co.uk. Explore www.arkdesignbuild.co.uk to see more of their work.
