Studio for an Artist, London

This is the first phase of a larger composition of building on the site which will include the artist's house. The building is, foremost, a simple well-lit space in which to paint. It has white walls and ceiling, a grey concrete floor (with underfloor heating to leave the walls unencumbered) and a mezzanine for storage under which is a kitchenette and shower room. Two enormous dormer windows in the north elevation give diffuse and even light. The tall slot door between the dormers is sized to allow easy access to the artist's typically huge canvases.

The space draws inspiration from the tall-windowed Edwardian studios on Talgarth Road and from the kind of super-scale attic atelier typified by Moreau's studio in Paris. The fact that there are no views out at ground level removes the interior from its immediate surroundings while allowing glimpses of the sky, trees and rooftops. Externally, with its flush fitting shutters and doors closed, it looks like a copper-clad box or reliquary, nestling amongst the huge plane trees which tower over the site.

The design for the artist's studio has been exhibited in Dulwich and the studio opened to the public as part of London Open House weekend. In addition to being well received locally, the studio has received favourable comment in the press.

"An awkward site plan for an artist's studio provided a challenge for the architects. The results are a triumph."

Mark Irving, 'Height of inspiration', The Evening Standard, July 1998