Australian studio Dane Taylor Design completed the multipurpose Studio Bush garden A New South Wales compact veneered room charred wood.
Commissioned by a couple who run a child psychiatric clinic, the park studio serving as a private space for studying and entertaining, as well as a sanctuary for their teenage daughter.
Bush Studio’s design focuses on fostering an intimate relationship between the owner and the bushland landscape surrounding their home in Bulli, a coastal suburb of the Australian city of Wollongong.
Dean Taylor Design Take a minimalist approach to materiality and form, with off-site manufacturing helping with that.
“The current residence is at the front of the building, with a winding suspension path connecting the two,” explained studio director Dane Taylor.
“This journey from home to studio gently returns the occupant to nature from the built environment.”
The structure is nestled among blue gum trees and sits on an elevated wooden deck that is meticulously positioned against the contours of the landscape.
A gum tree is also incorporated directly into the design, growing across the surface via an opening.
Simple in form, the Bush Studio has a rectangular plan with glass openings on its east, north and west facades framing views across the roof and into the landscape beyond.
The structure is crowned with a single-pitched roof that sits above the clerestory windows and provides optimal sunlight into the space during the year.
Because the structure is so modest in size, Taylor used passive design strategies to control solar gain and ensure a comfortable interior temperature.
“By orienting the structure towards the north side and designing overhanging roofs that let in the warm winter sun, while blocking the harsh summer sun, [we] Ultimately creating a comfortable indoor space,” Taylor said.
The natural qualities of the site influenced decisions about material significance, as the wood was charred using a Japanese technique called Shou Sugi Ban as an outer cladding.
The shoji wood sliding screens used as doors are meant to signify the “imperfect natural beauty” of the surrounding gum trees, Dane Taylor Studio said.
The influence of the site continues inside Bush Studio, with a polished concrete floor chosen to echo the gravel paths on the slopes behind the house.
“Because the space was required to be multifunctional, a simple interior scheme was used,” Taylor explained. “The walls and ceiling are painted a flat light gray to contrast with the solid wood windows and doors.”
Elsewhere in Australia, Melbourne architect Matt Gibson recently set up a home A writer’s garden studio is covered in ivy to help him blend in with his surroundings.
Other garden rooms featured at Dezeen include Illuminated by Richard John Andrews and Cork Study by Sormon Weston.
Photography by Daniel Mulhern.